The Espada's Assistant
by Insane Fangirl 4
Summary: A devilish ninja goes undercover into hueco mundo to try and bring down Aizen. But what happens when she meets the emotionless espada Ulquiorra? Devil meets Demon. Will sparks fly or will everything die? ulquiorraxOC
1. The Mysterious Stranger

**A/N **** Hey, I'm Zoe! I'm Insane Fangirl's awesome partner in crime. Since she is working very hard on Two Frozen Hearts, I thought I'd return the favour and write a story about her and her beloved Ulquiorra.**

**I really hope you enjoy the story! (silly duck forgot to mention she doesn't own bleach *brief cameo*)**

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><p>The Espada's Assistant.<p>

Chapter 1 – Mysterious Stranger

"That's enough for today. DISMISSED!" The second commander of the covert ops stood back and watched as his members stopped training and started cleaning equipment away. Barrachi sighed deeply, the war against the arrancar was in full swing and it was wearing him out.

A movement caught his eye and he turned around to face the distraction. One person was still training- Breaking all the boards and dummies at an extremely fast pace. Their leg movements were a blur and splinters of wood and shredded pieces of fabric were flying all around the training area.

"Hmm, their movements aren't that bad" noted Barrachi.

'DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND THE MEANING OF THE WORD DISMISSED? STOP TRANING RIGHT NOW!' bellowed the third seat of the covert ops, Gapato. The mysterious trainer stopped moving and stared at Gapato as wood and fabric continued to swirl around before falling to the floor.

'I'm sorry Gapato, I didn't know everyone had already stopped.'

Gapato opened his mouth to shout at this insolent person for not using an honorific but Barrachi laid a hand on his shoulder.

'Calm down Gapato, this person was obviously training so hard that he didn't hear any of us. Go help clean up, I'll deal with this. '

'But-'

'Go, Gapato.'

Fuming, Gapato stormed away to snatch up mats and boards. Barrachi couldn't help smiling at the third seats lack of emotional control. He turned around to face the masked stranger and was greeted with a hostile glare.

'You called me a he.'

'I beg your pardon?' asked a surprised Barrachi. The stranger was getting irritated.

'You called me a _he._ Why does everyone assume that the whole militia is entirely comprised of _males_?' The stranger tore of the mask covering the bottom half of their face. 'Females can fight just as well as males can, yet we're always expected to stay home and clean. It's Disgusting! '

The stranger was livid, her eyes were blazing and she gave off a black, demonic aura. Barrachi automatically took a step back before remembering who he was. Drawing himself up straight, he demanded 'What is your name? How dare you speak to a superior like that! '

Before the stranger could answer, a messenger materialised in front of her: 'I'm very sorry for intruding but Saniya-sama has been summoned to the commander-in-chief's quarters. '

The stranger and messenger both disappeared. Barrachi stared at the location where they both had stood a second before and rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

'So, her name is Saniya. I wonder why that sounds so familiar.'

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><p><strong>AN. Haha! That's the first chapter, hopefully you'll be able to see Insane Fangirl's personality through this, and I've tried to make it as accurate as possible. (Yes, she does have a demonic aura!) eeek!**** Please proceed onto chapter 2!**


	2. The Name of the Game

**A/N. ****I love this chapter, hopefully you will too! (she still doesn't own bleach)**

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><p>Chapter 2.- The Name Of The Game<p>

'SANNIIYYAAA! You're here!' Soifon ran forwards throwing her arms around her affectionately. Squirming, Saniya wriggled away from Soifon's grasp. "Of course, I'm here." 'She said coldly, 'your messenger wouldn't leave me alone till I came into this room.' She smoothed the wrinkles out of her black militia uniform which hung loosely on her small, yet strong frame.

"Aw, he's just doing his job." replied Soifon sitting down on her chair. "So how's my baby cuz doing in the combat world? Not too tough for you?" teased Soifon.

"It sucks!" exclaimed Saniya. "All the higher-ups keep talking to me like I'm a guy. The next person who refers me to as a 'he' again will regret it when I kick them in the fucking balls."Saniya mimed the action ferociously cackling with dark energy.

Soifon threw back her head and laughed loudly. "Ah San-San, how do you expect them to know you're a girl when you're dressed like that?" Saniya's hood and mask was suddenly ripped off. Her long, ebony hair tumbled down past her shoulders and re-arranged itself into a sleek, shiny line. Her nose and mouth was in perfect proportion to her face and her dazzling brown eyes flashed menacingly at Soifon.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?" roared Saniya as she scrambled around trying to retrieve the mask from Soifon. "You look better without it!" laughed Soifon as she flash-stepped away from her cousin. Giving up, Saniya stopped and looked around at her surroundings as Soifon continued laughing and flash-stepping around the room.

Many pairs of eyes were watching Saniya as she stared at them incredulously. The entire room was nearly covered with pictures of Yoruichi, many of them taken in secret no doubt. Soifon stopped beside Saniya. "Ah, I see you're admiring my pictures. Isn't Yoruichi-sama just incredible? She's such an amazing person! She looks so cute when she's in her cat form and she has a great body...A really great body might I add! Not to mention a wonderful personality. Oh What am I saying! It makes me blush! Ha ha!" Soifon was in her own world, not aware that her nose had started bleeding and was steadily dripping onto the floor.

Saniya fixed her hood and mask back on and turned to leave the room. "Why don't you go take a cold shower Soifon? You'll feel much better." Sliding the door open, Saniya started to walk out the room just as someone tried to walk in.

SMASH!

Saniya was knocked backwards as Omaeda's large frame entered the room. "hmmph", tutted Omaeda, "What a weak guy, move out my way."

Soifon smirked as Omaeda crumpled to the floor, rolling and groaning a few seconds later as Saniya stood up triumphantly. "That's what you get for calling me a guy, bitch!"

"Omaeda, if your brain was as big as your belly, you could have avoided my cousin and your balls would have remained intact" said Soifon in a bored voice.

Gasping painfully, Omaeda tried to get back on his feet. "Soifon-sama, he's your cousin? But he's so-OUCH!" he fell again as he earned another forceful kick.

"I'M A GIRL DOUCHEBAG! GET IT RIGHT!" shouted Saniya angrily.

Soifon watched them mildly interested before asking "What did you want to see me for Omaeda?"

"It's about the emergency letter. Have you heard that they're-"

"Yes, I already know about that. It's a big problem.' Soifon was suddenly serious. "What can we do about it though?"

"What's this about Soifon? Is there a problem in soul society?" Saniya looked at Soifon, searching her face for answers.

Soifon sighed deeply.

"They want to send spies into Hueco Mundo to bring down Aizen"

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><p><strong>AN. ****Thank you for reading! There's more to come. Please review while you wait**


	3. The Suit

**A/N. Oooo Spies! Third chapter, please enjoy! (*brief cameo* bleach isnt hers! lies!)**

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><p>Chapter 3- The Suit<p>

'What's the central 46 thinking? Its way too risky to send spies in during the middle of the war!' exclaimed Saniya. She looked down at the grim faces staring back up at her. Soifon was absent-mindedly stroking her favourite black cat plushie while Omaeda held an ice pack between his legs. The emergency plan came as a shock to them and they were deciding on the best way to deal with the situation.

'I'd be happy to go to hueco mundo and act as a spy,' started Soifon, 'but Aizen and his subordinates know what I and most of the other shinigami look like. We'd be caught in no time. The central 46 also wants to leave this mission to the 2nd division since I have the stealth force under my control. I need to come up with a strategy quickly.' Soifon bit her lip, at a lost for what to do.

Suddenly the door slid open and as the three faces glanced up to see who it was, their faces turned from despair to relief. 'Yo. Let's take a trip to the twelfth division.'

Yoruichi led the group to the prominent research and development building. 'What are you doing here anyway Yoruichi-sama?' asked Soifon, keeping very close to her idol.

'Well, Uruhara and Kurotsuchi have been working on a secret item the past few weeks' explained Yoruichi. 'And they've just finished it so we're going over to take a look at it now.' She paused. 'Also, how many times do I have to tell you to just call me Yoruichi?' She asked, ruffling Soifon's hair before proceeding.

She took them straight to the office where the secret item was kept. Uruhara stood there waiting for them.

'Come, come see my latest masterpiece!' he urged them impatiently. 'She's a real beauty and all ready to go. We just need a pilot...' He cast his eyes over the small group. 'Now let's see...who's most suitable for this?'

The group were confused, they were expecting a ship or a nuclear weapon to be built but all that stood behind Uruhara was a white uniform. 'What the hell Uruhara, if this is one of your jokes...' Yoruichi cracked her knuckles threateningly.

'Oh ho ho!' laughed Uruhara flipping his fan open and waving it energetically, 'this is no joke. We have created an exact replica of the arrancar suits. It's the exact same shade and complete with a matching hollow mask.' 'But,' he added, pausing to create dramatic effect 'it comes with a few surprises. All we need is someone to wear the suit to activate it. '

Soifon held the suit at arm's length. 'Who the hell can wear this!' she demanded. It was a tight fitting jumpsuit, with black lines running up and down the side. It was also very long and the suit trailed along the floor as Soifon scrutinized it more. 'That's the beauty of it!' grinned Uruhara. 'This suit's power resides in the leg area. It requires someone with the perfect measurements to manoeuvre it, someone like...' he trailed off as he spotted Saniya standing looking confused. Spotting this, Soifon dropped the suit and ran to her cousin's aid. 'Don't you dare Uruhara! Don't you dare try to make my cousin wear that perverted suit for your own needs! '

'Now, now children, let me explain my new experiment! ' intervened Kurotsuchi, picking up the suit and shaking the dust off it. He smiled at the group and pointed at Saniya. 'You. Come here and try on this suit. Hurry, hurry I don't have all day. '

Saniya looked pleadingly at Soifon before Yoruichi silently nudged her towards the suit. She took it from Kurotsuchi and walked to the room next door to change. The group waited for her, the atmosphere heavy with suspense. Uruhara sighed happily and sat down to pour himself a cup of tea. He looked at Soifon , wondering how she will take the news.

'What is it?' snapped Soifon, irritated at his knowing stare.

'Your cousin is part of the executive militia yes?' he inquired.

'What of it?'

'I was wondering what you would say if I told you that we're sending her to Hueco Mundo on this mission since she has the best chance of spying on Aizen' he finished quickly and pleasantly.

Soifon stared at him, stunned at what he just said. 'I..she's never been on missions before, auntie doesn't want her to get hurt. I don't think this is...'

The door opened and Saniya walked towards them sheepishly. 'Um.. it's a bit...um... revealing' she stammered blushing furiously. The suit had fit her perfectly and she was surprised at how comfortable it was. If only it hadn't revealed part of her stomach or had a slit up the legs...

There was an awkward silence as the room stared at Saniya. Then Yoruichi let out a wolf whistle 'You look great! How long must your legs be to be able to fit into that? You've been hiding those weapons under that ugly black ninja outfit! I never did like those uniforms!' she winked mischievously. Saniya moved around uncomfortably wanting the ground to swallow her up. Kurotsuchi and Uruhara moved closer to Saniya examining the suit causing her to blush again. 'Hmm it really does fit her perfectly' muttered Uruhara. Kurotsuchi nodded in agreement and reached out towards Saniya's legs.

'HEY! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!' yelled Soifon grabbing Kurotsuchi's arm. 'Don't be such a perv!'

Kurotsuchi gave Soifon a disgusted look before shrugging her off and reaching inside his pocket. He extracted a small glass tube and inside were tiny purple crystals sparkling in the light. He pulled the top off and sprinkled some crystals onto his hand. He moved closer towards Saniya, bending down so that he was at eye level with the middle of her thigh. Slowly, he introduced the crystals to the suit and watched as the crystals embedded themselves into the material before disappearing. Satisfied, he stepped back and carefully replaced the stopper onto the tube before putting it back into his pocket.

Smiling, he looked up at Saniya and said 'you truly are the perfect pilot for this suit. Try it out, feel the power that you'll receive from your second spirit.'

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><p><strong>AN. Dum dum DUMMMMM. Ahh I love cliff hangers, don't you? ****Haha I won't make you wait for too long but please review while I think up more ingenious plots. *draws equations on blackboard***


	4. Borrowed Power

**A/N**** Knowing that you enjoy my story makes me very happy! Woo! Chapter 4 (*another small cameo* bleach=not zoe's)**

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><p>Chapter 4- Borrowed Power<p>

'_Second spirit_?' echoed the group.

'While a shinigami's zanpakuto spirit resides in the sword, I have created one that can reside in the suit to provide extra support. 'explained Uruhara. 'Hueco Mondo is a very unpredictable place; your life will be at risk at all times. This suit will grant you protection from most attacks including a minor cero. You will also be able to attack using cero which is basic arrancar skill. Plus, your strength will be doubled hence why I said the power was in the leg area.' He glanced over at Soifon. 'You will be able to run twice as fast as well as kick twice as hard.' Omaeda whimpered, placing the ice pack protectively between his legs.

'Go on, give it a try silly girl, we don't have much time' urged Kurotsuchi.

Saniya hesitated. Will it really work? She thought to herself, I don't feel much different. Taking a deep breath, she took one step and broke into a sprint creating a whirlwind behind her. She ran around, feeling more confident, enjoying the carefree feeling the suit provided her with. Laughing, she turned back to see the figures of Soifon and Yoruichi growing smaller and smaller. She didn't see the wall fast approaching.

CRASH!

Saniya covered her head with her arms as brick and debris engulfed her. Surprisingly she was not hurt at all. She saw that her leg was pushed out in front of her and panicked thinking that she had broken it. She stared at her leg for a couple more seconds before realising that it was stuck out in an awkward, kicking position.

Bemused, she stood up as Uruhara and Soifon ran towards her.

'Are you okay?' asked Soifon concernedly, checking Saniya for injuries.

'I'm fine but I'm not sure what just happened...' started Saniya.

Uruhara examined the ruined wall before facing the two girls, grinning. 'The suit is a success!' he declared. 'It protects the owner of the suit from danger by taking control of the leg and smashing through the obstacle whether the owner is aware of it or not. That,' he added 'is the true power of the suit; mixed in with your combat training, you will have complete protection, Saniya. Aizen spying will be a doddle now that the suit has worked out so well!'

He beamed at Saniya, taking her hand in both of his. 'It's a great thing that we have you to wear the suit. I'm also very grateful to Soifon for keeping you on a low profile. Aizen doesn't know that you exist which works in our good favour.' He turned serious. 'I need you to understand that this job is very important, you will need to blend in with the other arrancar and pretend that you are one of them. Do not blow your cover and make sure to give us updates on his plans. I know that it's very sudden for you but you have been trained by the best and the suit fits you perfectly. If I had to put any word to it, I'd say that this was your fate.'

Saniya stared at Uruhara, feeling scared and excited at the same time. She had always longed to go on missions and was envious of Soifon for being able to so experience so many things that she could not. Her time had finally come and she could finally be of use to soul society. She hated Aizen for disrupting the peace; it was up to her to help bring him down. She wanted to fight and she wanted to succeed. Her resolve was set; she will help restore peace to Soul Society once and for all.

'I understand.'

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><p><strong>AN waaa sorry for the big pieces of dialogue, Uruhara wanted a significant part.**** :P I hope you didn't get too bored.****But that's all the formalities done. From here on in, the fun starts ;)**


	5. Goodbyes

**A/N. A big thank you to those who have reviewed my story so far! I'm talking to MrsEspada, Safuuru and BleachFan, I'm smiling like the Cheshire cat because of you three! Merci beaucoup! (bleach still isn't hers!)**

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><p>Chapter 5- Goodbyes<p>

A bright blue streak of light shot up to the sky, a sight that could be seen from all over soul society. Uruhara and Kurotsuchi stood back and watched as the dimensional fabric that separated the two worlds was ripped, revealing a large black hole. This was the entrance to Hueco Mundo, home of hollows, arrancars and Aizen, their enemy.

'Okay child, listen carefully' announced Kurotsuchi. 'We've made it so that when you reach Hueco Mundo, you will be transported straight to Las Noches which is Aizen's castle. My sources tell me that Aizen is creating a bigger army of arrancar, he's churning out arrancar at such a fast pace that there's no way he'll know which one is which. This is a great opportunity; you'll be able to sneak in easily. I've equipped you with a mini camera; take snapshots for us and any useful items that I can experiment on. You will be able to contact us once a week via the communication port located in your mask. I've always been interested in the layout of las noches, particularly their sky, try and...'

Saniya wasn't paying much attention to the captain's rant, she was worried about her outfit, it made her feel exposed and vulnerable. She couldn't remember the last time she had shown that much skin in public, her black uniform had made sure she didn't. Running her fingers delicately across the soft material and tracing the black lines running down the side of her body, she remembered that the suit was just lending her its power, it wasn't permanent.

She felt the wind wreak havoc with her straight hair; her cousin had forced her to wear it down. Soifon had also confiscated her precious mask declaring that she would stand out too much with it on. Saniya sighed. She hated looking like a girly girl and yet she hated being called a man even more. Life was simpler when she had her mask and hood on, identity and gender hidden from everyone.

The hollow mask that she wore was perched at a peculiar angle on her head; it was also heavier than it looked. She felt ridiculous. Only having half a mask seemed to be a trend in the arrancar world. Her mask had a curved horn and sat on the right side of her head. They reassured her that the mask wouldn't fall off even if she was engaged in battle but she couldn't help feeling that the slightest movement would send the mask crashing to the ground. She shuffled around uncomfortably glancing up at the black hole that was opening up wider and wider.

'Don't worry Saniya, you're not by yourself, we'll send more spies up once their suits have been finalised. I know you'll do great, awesomeness runs in the family after all' encouraged Soifon.

'I won't let you down Soifon' replied Saniya hugging her cousin goodbye.

'Just try not to hurt too many hollows while you're there! They'll probably move out your way, you do give off an evil spiritual pressure after all, I'm sure you'll fit right in! Soifon laughed but she could not hide the worry that was showing in her eyes.

She grasped her cousin's hands and spoke urgently with cold fire in her eyes ' Saniya, Aizen is a killer. He has betrayed the whole of soul society. He doesn't deserve freedom. He doesn't even deserve to live. Find the fucker and let him know how much pain he has caused others. ' Soifon blinked back tears.

'Saniya, find him and avenge Auntie. Don't let her die in vain. She didn't deserve to die! She didn't deserve to.. .' She shook her head, tears trailing down her face.

'Be brave Soifon' whispered Saniya. 'She always told me to be brave' her voice wobbled and her eyes stung as she hugged her cousin for the last time.

Yoruichi stepped up to Saniya and placed her hand on her shoulder. She nodded at her and said 'It's time.'


	6. Las Noches

**A/N. Saniya's on her way to Las Noches, What/who will she meet along her travels? Read on...**

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><p>Chapter 6. – Las Noches<p>

It was pitch black inside the tunnel. There was a queer noise echoing all around it. It sounded like wet mud piled up one by one before slowly collapsing under its own weight. The noise was continuous and it roared through Saniya's head as she tried to navigate through the darkness.

'Shakkaho' she whispered stretching out her hand. A red light emerged and Saniya progressed forward using her kido as a lantern.

She finally began to see an exit. Happily she rushed forward eager to be away from the strange noises in the tunnel. She slowed down remembering that this was enemy territory. Cautiously, she crept forward edging towards the light. She could see black and white checked flooring and chandeliers hanging down from the ceiling. She was definitely in Las Noches. The light was very close to her. Saniya frowned. Why was she close to the chandeliers? Shouldn't she be closer to the floor? Yet it looked much further away.

She crept forward still and before she could find any more answers, the floor suddenly gave out and she fell.

Instinct took over her mind as she quickly adjusted herself to safely land on her feet. Her training had saved her from injuring herself. Landing softly, she looked up at the ceiling to see the portal to soul society closing quickly and silently.

'Damn that Uruhara!' She grumbled angrily. 'Who does he think he is to arrange the portal to dump me eight feet off the ground? Stupid bastard ' She got up, wiping dust off her suit and turned to look around at her surroundings.

She froze mid-turn as she realised that she was not alone.

A man wearing a white uniform was standing at the doorway watching her. Saniya took up a fighting stance not wanting to blow her cover so soon. The stranger slunk forward as Saniya lunged towards him.

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><p><strong>AN. STOP! Pyjama time!**** Do the pyjama dance or the plotline gets erased from my brain: P if you can't do the dance, reviews will work too! As always, Thank you for reading! : D**


	7. Cat vs Devil

**A/N.**** Meowwww!**** Thank you for reading! Please enjoy this juicy chapter!**

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><p>Chapter 7 – Cat vs. Devil<p>

Someone snickered.

'What do you think you're doing?' a voice asked.

Saniya opened her eyes expecting contact which did not come. She saw that her fist had come up a few millimetres short from her victim's stomach. Puzzled, she looked up to see a shockingly handsome face with bright blue hair and even brighter blue eyes smirking at her. He had caught her other fist in his hand preventing her from moving forward.

She jumped back and prepared to attack again.

'Whoa whoa, calm down!' Grimmjow raised his palms up to show her he meant no harm. 'What's your name? You're a newbie aren't you? They shouldn't let you run around all over the place getting lost; you're the 5th one I've found so far. Geez, what am I? A nanny?'

Saniya narrowed her eyes at him, Why the hell was a freaking arrancar talking to her like she was a lost child? She got ready to pound some sense into the idiot until he grabbed her wrist and dragged her down the corridor.

'What are you doing? Let go of me!' she dug her heels into the floor attempting to break free from his grasp. The grip was firm.

'I'm an espada, superior to the likes of you. I'm taking you to the control room. All the newbies we round up are to be put there till we can sort them all out. Stop being stubborn, dumbass, or I'll drag you around by your hair instead.'

Saniya stopped moving. A dark aura formed a cloud around her and slowly got more powerful as her anger reached critical level.

'You'll do what?' she whispered, her voice, dangerously quiet. Silent rage was building up inside her as she wrenched her arm away and shoved him against the wall. She grabbed his hair and pulled it up so that he could see her face. 'You'll do what?' she repeated.

Anger clouded his face as he pushed her away. He drew back his fist and released it at such a fast pace, it was almost a blur. Saniya dodged it easily and with her added strength, she managed to hit her target perfectly.

In the face.

Grimmjow reeled backwards, shocked at the force of the punch. He stood back and observed his opponent. He figured that she was definitely a girl but her words and actions proved otherwise. He hated to admit it but she was kinda hot. Her body was perfectly toned and her legs were endless. Her hair glistened like long threads of black gold and her copper eyes showed nothing but hate for him. Too bad she wouldn't co-operate.

'That's quite a revealing outfit you have on eh?' Grimmjow attempted to throw her focus off balance but Saniya stayed fixed.

'Shut up Smurf-head, I'm not the one who's half naked right now' she retorted.

Grimmjow snarled and rushed at Saniya.

He launched attack after attack and she dodged and dodged. Faster and faster, the attacks got more and more brutal as their determination to win grew stronger. Saniya narrowly dodged a punch before flash-stepping simultaneously and launching a hit of her own. She was in the zone, she felt like she was back at home training with other members.

Dodge, flash-step and attack was the drill and they were all trained using that method. She remembered the happiness she felt when she finally mastered flash-steps.

_She had rushed home to share the good news with her family only to find a devastating and haunting sight waiting for her._

Saniya blinked back to the present, momentarily distracted by the sudden memory. That was enough time for Grimmjow. He raised his fist and connected with the front of her body. She fell to the floor as Grimmjow stood over her triumphantly.

'Hmmph. You can never beat me' he declared smugly. He saw her moving her lips silently. 'What's that? 'He asked, moving closer to hear what she was saying.

'You lose.'

Saniya grabbed Grimmjow's collar to pull herself up meaning to finish him off with her killer kick. She hadn't planned on him losing his balance at that precise moment.

He fell forward and landed on top of her.

Luckily, he stretched out his arms just in time to avoid crushing her. He held himself just above her with his arms. Saniya was trapped. She was about to yell at him to get off her when she noticed that his face was just millimetres away from her own, his crystal blue eyes looking into her own plainer brown ones. She could feel her heartbeat pounding faster as an unusual roaring filled her head. She couldn't look away. She was slowly being pulled in by the captivating blue glow...

'Ehhhh, what's going on over here?' a taunting voice called over at them.

_Oh shit._

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><p><strong>AN**** ) ;)**** Hello, Hello! Much love to all my reviewers, I'm so sorry I can't reply directly to you all. At the beginning, I was just writing stories to stave off boredom but it's fast becoming my favourite hobby! The author notes are the only way I can talk to you but if you need to contact me with requests or suggestions, feel free to message insane fangirl4 and I'm sure she'll pass the message onto me.**

**Are we all enjoying the story so far? Of course we are! Silly question. :D**


	8. The Task

**A/N. 8****th****chapter****I'll share a secret with you, my loyal readers. I find it better to write my stories in the middle of the night, it's quiet and the ideas and words come to me more naturally. If only I used this technique when writing essays in school! Anyway, before I rant any further, I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

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><p>Chapter 8- The task<p>

Grimmjow jumped up so quickly away from Saniya that he nearly lost his balance all over again. His cheeks felt hot, embarrassment rising as he realised someone caught him in that position with a mere arrancar.

The fact that it was _that_ person who saw made the situation worse. Stirring things up seemed to be his goal in life; he loved knowing other people's secrets and subtly used those secrets against them. He had small, slanted eyes and a thin, lanky body. It was the most disproportionate body he had ever seen. It reminded him of a snake and Grimmjow didn't like snakes.

'Shouldn't you be performing your duties Nnoitra?'

The snakeman grinned, revealing only his upper teeth. 'I was just about to till I heard the sound of people fighting. I came over to witness it firsthand! Though when I got here, I didn't quite expect to see you..._performing_... on her.' he glanced over at Saniya who was still lying on the floor. His grin got wider. 'My, my Grimm, aren't you quite the_hard_ worker?'

'Shut up' hissed Grimmjow pulling Saniya up and carrying her over his shoulder before she could react, 'She's a new recruitment, I was just showing her how to co-operate.' He walked away in the direction of the control room.

Nnoitra chuckled quietly, already planning out the best ways to tease his fellow blue espada as he followed after them to the control room.

Grimmjow entered the room and dumped the load off his shoulder. He couldn't bring himself to look at her without that scenario playing back in his head again. Saniya fell with a thump and after glaring at Grimmjow for a lengthy amount of time, she quickly registered her situation. There was about thirty other arrancars in the room and they all wore the same confused and scared expression. She re-adjusted her features to blend in with them and brought her legs in to make herself seem smaller.

Pain flashed through her body and she gasped painfully. The right side of her body was throbbing with pain; she was surprised she didn't notice it before.

Damn that blue haired freak, he got a good punch in she thought to herself angrily.

She noted that it hurt to breathe. She felt along the side of her body and round the front, locating the source of the pain. A crunchy feeling under her skin confirmed her suspicions- broken ribs. Some must have broken on impact when he punched her.

'Damnit' she muttered. Getting hurt so early in the game was so weak; her ribs would take some weeks to heal by themselves. She had already let soul society down and it had only been a couple of hours since she left them.

'OI, HEALER GIRL!' shouted Grimmjow as a pretty girl with long burnt-orange hair rushed towards him. She was wearing a white arrancar uniform but she didn't possess a hollow presence. Puzzled, Saniya watched as Grimmjow spoke to her dismissively, pointing to his face. The girl nodded and placed her hands near his face where an orange glow surrounded the cuts. Within a minute, the injuries had disappeared, as though an 'undo' button had been pressed, restoring his face back to its former glory.

Grimmjow grunted in approval and waved the girl away. Harribel stepped forward and addressed the new arrancars.

'Welcome new comrades. As you know, Lord Aizen expects only the most powerful arrancar to be in his army. We need to test how strong you are and then help you work on achieving your potential in the limited time we have. For starters, let's have you come up and demonstrate your power. We have a shielded box which you will enter. Inside are hurdles, walls and dummy shinigamis. You need to jump over all of the hurdles. Then you must make a hole in the wall big enough for you to crawl through. There are 5 walls, one after each other. Afterwards, a dummy shinigami will greet you. You must destroy it. '

A large digital timer came down from the ceiling. It read: 03:00. Pointing to the timer, Harribel announced 'All of this has to be done in less than 3 minutes. Let's start. '

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><p><strong>AN. As always, please review and make me happy!**


	9. The Box

**A/N. I've never broken any bones in my body *touch wood* but I'm very happy to be blessed with an active imagination. I hope I've conveyed the pain of broken ribs accurately! Thanks again for reading!**

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><p>Chapter 9- The box<p>

Saniya was finding it more difficult to breathe; taking shallow breaths only eased the pain slightly. Her face was covered in a sheen of sweat as the colour drained away from her face. She watched as the other arrancars spent their three minutes in the box completing the task at hand. It looked simple enough though most of them had failed to complete it within the time limit.

It will be over soon.

'NEXT!'

It was her shot. She slowly raised herself up taking care not to stretch her ribs too much. They opened the door of the box for her and closed it after she had entered. Saniya closed her eyes, gathering up her energy. Her legs felt weak and her body throbbed in protest. She tried to forget about the pain and focused on the task ahead. She opened her eyes, her time had started.

It will be over soon.

Harribel, Grimmjow and Nnoitra were observing Saniya from outside the box. They were stunned at her speed as she flew past the hurdles. They watched as she smashed her way through the walls, running through them as though they were transparent.

Saniya was pushing herself. Her breathing got heavier and she was finding it hard to see clearly. She was on the 3rd wall, maybe it was the 4th, she couldn't remember. Her suit had made it easier for her. Doubling her speed enabled her to soar over the hurdles and she was able to break down the walls just like she did in soul society. However, it used up a lot of her strength and she was feeling the effects of it.

Now it was just the last part of the test for her to get through. She took a deep breath, a feat she almost instantly regretted as the pain electrified her body and continued to race up and down her limbs. She stayed still for a few moments letting the pain subside to a more tolerable level. She glanced up at the timer. She was two minutes in already.

'It's now or never' she thought to herself out loud. She smashed through the next two walls and stopped in front of the shinigami doll. It was poorly made, she could see the stray ends of thread sticking out and the doll did not seem to possess a nose. The task seemed too easy. Saniya felt tempted to grab the doll and to throw it down on the floor before stamping on it without mercy. Experience told her not to underestimate it. She looked at it closely and could almost see a shield that surrounded the doll. Had she attempted to grab it, the shield would have thrown her backwards causing damage. Using a kido based attack was her best chance. But Saniya was sure that she was under the watchful eyes of the esapada. Using that attack was as bad as pinning an 'I'm a shinigami, please kill me' sign on her back. She couldn't risk it. The timer showed that she only had 20 seconds left.

It will be over soon

Panicking, Saniya racked her brains trying to remember everything Uruhara told her. She was sure there was something important. Something that could help her in this situation. But what was it? What was it? Another wave of pain flooded her senses, sending her body into a shocked spasm.

_She was hiding in the basket with her brothers. She looked through the gap and saw a man with his back turned to her. She saw him stretch out his finger and mutter that fateful word which ripped her family apart._

Saniya understood what she had to do. 10 more seconds left. She raised her hand and pointed at the doll.

'Cero'.

The doll was blasted apart as the red light shot out from her finger. The timer stopped at 00.01.

The door of the box opened and Harribel stood there, smiling. 'Congrats, you're the first one to complete the task in less than 3 minutes.'

Saniya walked towards her slowly, a burst of pain shot through her as everything went pitch black, darkness finally taking over her.

It's over now.


	10. Healer

**A/N. Nothing amazing happened to me today. All I can say is please enjoy!** **I'm sure you'll appreciate this chapter for reasons that will soon become clear! :D**

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><p>Chapter 10- Healer<p>

It was quiet. Nobody knocked her door down or shouted at her to eat breakfast. It was peaceful, but it was a little bit _too_ peaceful.

Saniya frowned, her eyes still shut. She wanted to relax a little more before going for breakfast and starting her morning training. She could hear hushed whispering; her little brothers planning an ambush on her most likely.

But the whispering was different, there was no giggling and the voices were low-pitched, something her eight year old brothers definitely wouldn't be able to do yet.

Mystified, she laid still feigning sleep as she listened to the strangers whispering. The whisperings got louder as someone came into the room and then shut the door behind them cutting off the noise outside.

She could hear someone shuffling about and they got closer till she could feel them standing beside her.

'Woman, what is _that_?'

'Shh don't wake her, she's my patient'

Saniya located the positions of the voices. One was male, his voice low and monotonous. He was standing right next to her. The other was female; her voice was timid and soft. She sounded further away. Saniya decided that she was definitely not in soul society as she remembered her mission.

'Why do you bother healing that?'

'She collapsed right outside the box; I couldn't just leave her there! So I requested to bring her here so that she could heal properly. '

'You shouldn't have bothered; it's obviously just weak trash.'

Saniya was angry, who the hell was this bastard to have the nerve to call her trash? And if that wasn't bad enough, he also called her _weak. _It was unforgivable. She would have to teach him a lesson.

Still pretending to be asleep, Saniya rolled over to face the man. She roughly calculated the distance between them deciding that he was close enough for her plan to work. She clenched her fist and extended her arms quickly, managing to forcefully punch the man in the stomach during her unnecessary stretch.

Her eyes still shut; she smiled and rolled back over. She then mumbled for a few seconds, pretending to be talking in her sleep. Revenge was sweet.

There was a pause.

The man looked at the patient with disgust before saying 'Woman, don't bother with this thing, it's obviously broken. I'll dispose of it.' He stepped closer to her, his arm threatening to puncture a hole in her body.

'Don't do that! I just finished healing her!' Orihime stood in front of the sofa, her arms outstretched barring the man from her patient. 'She was in a bad state earlier so just let her rest.'

The man stared at the girl with orange hair but he did not lower his arm.

'I'm not scared of you Ulquiorra.'

His green eyes narrowed, he muttered 'You people are so confusing' before slouching out the room.

Orihime laughed before asking 'How are we confusing? Hey, answer meee!' She followed after him, shutting the door quietly behind her.

Saniya opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling. She felt along her body anticipating pain but she felt nothing. In fact, she felt pretty good. That girl must have healed her the same way she healed that smurfman.

Saniya thought about the smurfman. That damn blue-haired prick who managed to injure her. She decided that Las Noches was a place was full of asshole men who considered themselves superior to everyone around them. That monotoned man confirmed her accusation.

Ulquiorra.

She wouldn't forget that name.


	11. Inoue Orihime

Chapter 11- Inoue Orihime

Saniya awoke to see herself bathed in an orange glow. The girl with orange hair was sitting beside her, the glow emitting out her hands. She noticed that Saniya was awake and moved her hands away. The orange glow disappeared and the girl smiled at her.

'You're finally awake, how do you feel?'

'I feel much better, thanks, you have quite an amazing power' replied Saniya

'Oh its nothing' the girl replied modestly, 'I was so worried for you after the box task, only three people including yourself managed to finish within the time limit and you were the first to manage it! You did such a great job! Oh, my name's Orihime by the way, what's your name? '

'My name's Saniya, nice to meet you'

'That's a nice name. There was once a girl I knew, her name sounds like yours. What was it again? Umm Sandra? No no, maybe it was Sandy noo it was definitely something else, oh what could it be? Ahh maybe it was-'

'You don't seem like a hollow or an arrancar' interrupted Saniya. 'Where's your mask?'

Orihime paused. She looked at Saniya wondering if she should tell her. 'No, im not an arrancar or a hollow 'she said slowly. 'I'm human. '

Saniya looked at her shocked. 'A human?'

'Yup, just plain human' she laughed nervously. 'Ulquiorra, I don't think you've met him yet, but he brought me here and I guess I've just gotten used to the way things are run at this place. I got to say goodbye to my friends so it wasn't that bad. I'm sure they're all okay anyway.' She smiled sadly.

Saniya looked at the human girl with the sad eyes and the watery smile and said encouragingly 'I'm sure your friends will come rescue you'

Orihime shook her head. 'I don't want to go back, I'm happy here. '

'How can you be happy in a place where you don't belong?' asked a bewildered Saniya.

'umm...well it's not all that bad! I'm known as the healer here, there's not many people who can do what I do, you see, and they all appreciate it. Umm I also stay here because I want to know more about him a-a-nd and get him to open up to me more...' She trailed off wringing her hands together and clutching the fabric of her dress.

'Get to know who?'

'umm...w-well..it's ul-'

'Ahh it's so noisy in here, she must be awake eh?' Grimmjow stood in the doorway, grinning. A tuft of black hair stuck out behind him.

'Hey Ulquiorra!' Orihime ran forwards, breasts-first towards him. 'Why are you hiding, come meet Saniya! 'She dragged the reluctant man out from his hiding spot and proudly presented him to Saniya.

The first thing she noticed about him was how supernaturally green his eyes were. His milky white skin contrasted with his raven black hair and his eyes contrasted to his skin and his hair. Everything about him seemed unnatural. Yet that look suited him. The contrasts made him interesting and that stirred up Saniya's curiosity.

'Saniya, Ulquiorra, Ulquiorra, Saniya' Orihime smiled as she introduced them. With that out of the way, silence then followed.

Saniya and Ulquiorra stared at each other, both trying to stare the other one down. Saniya remembered that she was still pissed off at this guy for calling her weak trash and Ulquiorra still remembered that punch she delivered.

Saniya got even angrier. Why did those green eyes have to be so bright? And why did he look like he was looking straight through her? Unforgivable.

His perfect face bore no emotion, his hands deep in his pockets. Saniya clenched her fists. The movement caught his attention. He looked up slightly and Saniya felt her body burn pleasantly as he finally looked her in the eyes. His eyes were such a brilliant shade of green: they were enchanting, mysterious and deadly at the same time. He gave off a dangerous aura and that lit a fire in her soul.

The fire was quickly extinguished though, as he turned around and uttered his favourite word: 'Trash.'

She hated him.

She hated his smug little attitude and his expressionless face. She hated the word 'trash' even more than people mistaking her for a guy. She'll make him take back what he called her. She had a new goal now.

'LET'S GO PEOPLE!' shouted Grimmjow, clapping his hands. 'We need to head up to the espada meeting' he looked at Saniya pointedly.

Saniya glared at Grimmjow. Why did he always have to interfere with everything?

She blinked as the handsome face was suddenly in front of her.

'You're too close to me idiot!' she yelled, pushing his face away from her.

Grimmjow grabbed her arms. 'Why are you always so violent you moron! I was just trying to see if you had lost your brain, you were standing there looking stupid.' He paused. 'or maybe that's how you look normally?' He quickly moved away from Saniya as he sensed her killing intent.

'Who's the one who's stupid asswipe!' roared Saniya chasing the espada round the room.

Orihime beamed. 'You too look close, how do you know each other?'

They both abruptly stopped what they were doing and looked at her. Saniya had one hand in Grimmjow's bright blue hair and he held her other hand in his, their arms outstretched. He also had his arm around her waist. They looked as though they were locked in an alternative, violent waltz. Realising this, they both sprang apart.

Grimmjow put his arms behind his head, looking bored. 'Ahh, I was walking around looking for new arrancar coz Aizen wanted them gathered up and I found this weirdo- he pointed at Saniya- talking to herself. She wouldn't let me take her to the control room so I had to beat her up a little bit and here we are' he smiled arrogantly.

'You will both be disciplined if you don't hurry up' mumbled Ulquiorra walking away.

'Damn, you're right. Let's go!' he grabbed Saniya's hand and marched her out the room.

'Wait, wait! Why am I going?' asked Saniya desperately. She looked at Orihime. 'Are you not going as well?

Orihime shook her head. 'It's only for espadas'

Saniya registered this fact and then slapped Grimmjow's arm away. 'Yeah, it's only for _espadas,_smurfhead, I'm not 'superior' enough.' She air quoted the word and rolled her eyes. Grimmjow sighed impatiently. 'Just shut up and follow us!' He dragged her out the room.

They all walked down the long hallway in silence. Saniya pulled her hand away from Grimmjow again claiming she could walk by herself. This earned a sigh from Grimmjow before he faced forward and asked quietly 'Are you completely healed now?'  
>The question surprised Saniya and she looked at him puzzlingly. He kept looking straight ahead as they walked on. Saniya realised that, further ahead, Ulquiorra had slowed down and cocked his head to listen to her answer as well. She also faced forward and said 'Yeah, I'm all better now, so I can kick your ass anytime smurfhead!' Grimmjow smiled briefly and Ulquiorra walked on ahead again. The rest of the walk continued in silence.<p> 


	12. Espada

**A/N. Hey, hey, Zoe here! We have now reached the twelfth chapter, it's been so quick! Big thank you to all my readers! I'll take this time to answer questions. Author in the making123, I haven't drawn any pictures for this. I might do in the future when I find people who are great at drawing though! Safuuru, ahh you have got to be my **_**most **_**enthusiastic reviewer just now. Half the reviews are from you! Haha but thats great! Thank you very much for keeping my motivation up, I won't let you down! :P Thanks Everyone, Please enjoy!**

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><p>Chapter 12- Espada<p>

They entered the room to find 8 pairs of eyes staring at them. There were three vacant seats which they each took quietly.

'You're late' Baraggan said coldly.

'We had a bit of trouble' replied Grimmjow smoothly. Ulquiorra said nothing.

There was a moments silence as Saniya felt eyes looking at her.

'hmmph. So she's the cause of all this fuss, doesn't look that tough to me' Yammy sneered.

'She also doesn't look mentally adept' added Szayel. 'Bit dense looking don't you think?'

Saniya's face grew hot as she glared at the pink haired espada. Grimmjow guffawed quietly beside her. 'I told you that you looked stupid' he muttered.

Harribel held her hand up for silence as the room laughed at Szayel's remark. 'I stand by what I said. Most of you weren't there to witness her power but Grimmjow, Nnoitra and I were. Her power is very well-developed and her speed is extraordinary. If that's not enough, then let me tell you something else. She can perform a _cero._Harribel stressed the word.

'That's _nothing!_ Bellowed Baraggan 'Damn Gillians can fire ceros , this is pointless!'

'She shattered the box' Harribel said quietly. The room was instantly silent. 'After Grimmjow carried her away with the human girl, the glass cracked. I went over to check on it and then the whole thing just shattered. We couldn't even continue the initiation test after that, isn't that right Nnoitra?'

Nnoitra nodded. 'That box was meant to be made out of re-enforced material; it requires someone powerful just to _scratch_it. Only espadas are powerful enough to actually break it.' The room was silent again as they all took a second look at Saniya. Harribel smiled at her before addressing the room. 'This is why I proposed a meeting today; I'd like to make her one of us.'

Saniya along with the rest of the room gasped. Even Ulquiorra was engaged in the meeting and he too, stared at Saniya as she looked at Harribel, stunned.

What did she get herself into?

'I-I can't be an espada' insisted Saniya. 'I'm new, I don't know my way around or how things run in this place, I'd let you all down.'

Harribel shrugged. 'Everyone has to start somewhere' she said gently. 'We'll just have to find someone to show you the ropes and someone you can shadow for the time being. You also need to develop your powers more; it's kinda all over the place right now'

'Now!' Nnoitra looked round the table 'Who wants to look after our new sister?' His eyes darted to Grimmjow. 'Grimmi! You've always wanted a little sister to play with right?'

Grimmjow leaned back against his chair, 'No freakin way. She'll cramp my style'

'Aww thats a shame' began Nnoitra innocently, there was a sinister gleam in his eyes, 'You both looked pretty close the other day, almost like..._lovers_'

There was a deafening noise as Grimmjow scraped his seat back and stood up, fuming and glaring at the lanky espada. Nnoitra stayed still, smiling mischievously, completely unfazed by Grimmjow's predictable reaction.

'Sit down, Grimmjow. You know what he's like' said Szayel looking disapprovingly at Nnoitra. Grimmjow sat down relunctantly as Starrk spoke up for the first time.

'You need to decide on the best candidate who has time to actually look after her. With the war in the way, not many of us can spare much time to do such a task. As espada, we also need to guide the numeros ' he shut his mouth and let the other espadas fight it out amongst themselves. He wanted to leave the meeting as quickly as possible and go back to sleep.

'Well, if you put it that way, the only people who are mostly free is Szayel and Ulquiorra' said Nnoitra.

'I have loads to do!' claimed Szayel. 'I'm working on a new experiment for Lord Aizen and I was nearly at a breakthrough till you called me to this meeting. I have no time for simple creatures like her.'

'Ulquiorra?' asked Harribel. 'What do you think?

Ulquiorra regarded them with a cool stare and said nothing.

'Yeah Ulqui, you can look after her!' Nnoitra said enthusiastically. 'She can keep your human pet company. He grinned wickedly.

'You don't need to _look after_ her as such' intervened Harribel. 'Just show her what to do and where to go. Try and train with her as well. She won't be a 'pet' but she can be your-' she paused to find the right word. She looked at Ulquiorra and snapped her fingers, grinning.

'She'll be your assistant.'


	13. Assistant and Games

**A/N. *giggles knowingly***

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><p>Chapter 13- Assistant and Games<p>

Saniya sagged a little in her chair. What the hell. An assistant? They must all be out of their minds if they think she'll sit by quietly and take orders from that person. Speaking of which, he still hadn't given them an answer. He just sat there and stared through them all like he usually did. That annoyed her. A lot.

'Well? Is she going to be your assistant or not?' asked Baraggan impatiently. 'Answer quickly so we can get back to what we were doing.'

Ulquiorra stood up. 'Trash is trash' he said simply and walked out the room.

There was silence before Yammy sighed. 'That guy...' he said admiringly. 'He scares the hell outta me but man, do I respect him!' The atmosphere in the room got considerably lighter as he said this. It seemed that all of the espadas shared Yammy's view. He looked at Saniya. 'What are you doing weakling! Go after him! Go!'

'What? He left, why should I chase after him?' she asked back, folding her arms.

'Imbecile!' shouted Szayel and walked towards her threateningly.

Harribel stood up. 'Stop it Szayel.' She looked at Saniya and said ' We have selected him to be your mentor but whether he chooses to accept you or not is entirely up to you. '

'I don't understand'

Grimmjow sighed and yanked Saniya out her seat. 'Basically, Ulquiorra is an asshole who needs people to grovel at his feet before he'll decide whether to help them or not. Too bad he's the only one with the most authority over this'

All the espadas stood up and surged towards Saniya, pushing her out the room.

'Little girl!' boomed Baraggan near the back of the group 'Only he can help you become a fully fledged espada but you need to first prove that you're worthy of being his assistant.'

'You'll do fine Saniya, don't let him push you around' smiled Harribel. All the espadas nodded, silently encouraging her. With this, they gave her one last push out the door before they slammed it shut preventing her from returning.

Saniya looked at the closed door in panic. What _traitors!_ She looked left and right before just catching a glimpse of black hair rounding the corner on the left.

'Damn him, stupid egotistical moron, he has no regards for others, crazy bastard, running off on his own, that son of a...' Saniya kept up the string of insults and swear words as she chased after him.

'Oi! Wait up!' she called out as she was aware she was losing sight of him. She ran faster before realising that he had also sped up. For every step she took, he was two or three more ahead of her.

'What the...' She grinned as the concept of a challenge was presented to her. No problem, he wanted a race? She'll give him a race.

She quickened her pace and zoomed off towards the green-eyed espada.

Ten minutes later, she slowed down frowning. She had definitely seen this corridor before and the corridor after that. In fact, it felt as though she had been running in a big square the whole time. The target was still in front of her though.

I'll get him for sure! She thought determinedly. She kept up the steady jog before Ulquiorra changed direction and led her down a different corridor. Glad of the change, Saniya rushed forwards. As they rounded the corner, she saw Ulquiorra look back at her. It was an intense look and it caught her off guard, she slowed down.

The corner of his mouth then pulled up slightly. Saniya's heart leapt. Did he just try to smile? She craned her neck for a better look but it must have been a trick of the light for his mouth returned to its usual frown.

He led her further down the corridor and then looked at her again, mouth pulled up slightly. Saniya saw clearly this time and she scolded herself for being so naive. He wasn't smiling at her, he was _mocking_ her.

Furious, she ran faster nearly catching up to him before he disappeared and reappeared at the end of the corridor.

That did it. He wanted to play games? Two could play at that.

She flash-stepped after him, anticipating his next move. When she thought he would round the corner, she made sure she was there. Only then he doubled back on his route and turned the other way always making sure she was behind him.

It was impossible. She should have known that he would do the opposite of what she expected; he was that kind of person. Annoyed, she decided to stop thinking about where he would go next and let her intuition take over.

She flash stepped round the corners of the corridors, the suit guiding her quickly. It was a little bit too quick as she saw herself suddenly zooming past Ulquiorra, they had both caught each other's eyes as she went past him. Saniya was frustrated; he still looked calm and fresh even after about twenty minutes of chasing. She kept running before she was finally aware that she was in _front_ of him. She had beaten him.

'Yasss!' she punched the air triumphantly. She turned her head to look at him and was about to make a rude finger gesture before she promptly crashed into someone walking out the door.

The person screamed as they collided. 'Sorry, sorry!' Saniya called out as she tried to untangle herself from the arms and legs. Ulquiorra glided past her smoothly, his green eyes bright as he looked at her conceitedly. 'hnnh. Trash' he mumbled walking down the corridor.

Saniya stared after him as he walked away. Did he just _snort_ at her? She shook her head in disbelief.

'Oh Saniya, it's you!' said Orihime smiling.

'Oh hey, sorry' said Saniya as she pulled her up. She was surprised at seeing the orange haired girl. Did he lead her here knowing that she didn't know her way back from the meeting? Her pulse raced at the thought. 'Are you hurt?'

'Nope, I'm fine!' Orihime picked up the pieces of paper she had dropped. 'How was the meeting? What's been going on?'

Saniya sighed. 'I'm not sure how it happened, but somehow, they want me to be an espada.'

'That's great!' exclaimed Orihime. 'You'll have authority and your own quarters!'

'Not really' replied Saniya. 'Because I'm new and don't know my way around, there's no way I can be an espada. Right now, I'm like an espada in training. I don't even know where I'm staying tonight.'

Orihime beamed. 'You can stay in my room for the time being!'

'Thanks Orihime! 'smiled Saniya. There was no way she was staying in an unfamiliar place on her own. 'I'll be your new roommate!'


	14. Sweet Temptation

**A/N. Do enjoy, I'm sure you will ;)**

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><p>Chapter 14- Sweet Temptation<p>

Saniya groaned and covered her face with the blanket as someone shook her awake.

'Wakeee uppp Saniya!' Orihime said as she went to get herself ready. 'He'll be here soon'

Saniya looked at her roommate bleary-eyed and mumbled 'who? You're never specific enough; this whole damn place is crawling with so-called hes, males, guys, its, whatever you want to call them' she retreated back into the covers.

Orihime laughed. 'Don't be silly, I'm talking about Ulquiorra.'

'I don't wanna see that asshole!' the lump under the duvet called out, voice muffled 'tell him I died that would make him happy. Stupid emo crybaby. Whats up with the tear stains anyway; do they make him feel pretty or something?'

The bed covers were ripped back with brute face and Saniya looked up in surprise to see Orihime's angry face. Seeing the surprise on the girl's face, the anger quickly left Orihime as she struggled to control her emotions. 'Ulquiorra's a great guy' she said quietly, turning around so that she could conceal her blush. 'You're lucky you get to spend time with him' She walked over to the mirror to check her complexion for the umpteenth time.

'Pfft, big deal, I'll swap with you anytime' Saniya muttered, sitting up and stretching her sore muscles. It had been three days since she decided to be Orihime's roommate. A strict training timetable had been set up for her and she hardly had any time to rest. Even the stealth force never trained her this intensely. She yawned, deciding to make the most of the day. She quickly dressed and got herself ready.

'See you soon' she said to Orihime , opening the door.

'Hold on! Are you not waiting for him? What about breakfast?'

Saniya snorted. This orange haired girl sure was naive. She really did think of herself as a pet. Every morning and evening, she'd wait eagerly for that expressionless esapda to bring her food. She was like an animal being kept in a cage. Except the cage door had always been wide open, ready for her to step out. And yet the silly girl never thought to escape. Saniya shook her head, not wanting to know what went on in her mind.

'I have training' she told her and walked away, glad to be away from the prison.

Saniya took her favourite route to the training ground, cutting through Szayel's protected lab. Every day she would sneak past it, occasionally using her speed to her advantage. When Szayel's back was turned, she would move a beaker to the other side of the lab or hide his remotes before quickly exiting the room. She would chuckle quietly as he turned around to realise bits of his precious experiments had gone missing and he would spend ages looking for them again. She decided it was his fault for calling her dumb. Happily, she skipped out the building and looked towards the vast amount of sand they used as the training ground.

She supposed she had settled down to their way of life and she had gotten in contact with soul society the day before. It felt good to hear Soifon's voice and she wasted no time in letting her cousin know how she was getting on and the things that she had discovered. Saniya had also taken pictures of the sand and the night sky, figuring that it would keep Kurotsuchi happy. She sighed as she walked on, wondering when she would be able to go home.

She looked up as she felt a familiar spiritual pressure in front of her. Someone was also walking to the training ground at this time.

Blue hair...

Saniya grinned. She ran towards him.

'Hey, smurfhead!'

Grimmjow turned around, a pancake hanging from outside his mouth. He stopped when he saw who it was.

'whab dhu wanp?' he asked, spraying bits of pancake onto the sand.

Saniya ignored his question and lunged for the item in his hand. Snatching it away, she peeled away the rest of the wrapper and bit chunks off the second pancake Grimmjow brought with him.

'Yumm, I was starving! Thanks for the food!' She said happily, savouring the sweet snack.

'You owe me a pancake now' Grimmjow muttered, glaring at her. The pancake he was in the middle of eating had fallen when she had startled him; it was now covered in sand, inedible.

'Calm down, I'll share this with you' she said, splitting the pancake in half. 'Here,'

'I'm not hungry anymore, you have it' he said gruffly, walking ahead.

Saniya grinned and quickly ate the pancake. She then caught up to the espada and jumped on his back playfully.

'Hey Grimmi, I know you have more food stashed somewhere' she said, patting him and listening out for rustling of wrappers and looking out for suspicious lumps concealed in his clothes.

'Get off me' Grimmjow growled, attempting to throw her off.

'A-ha!' Saniya jumped off his back and landed on her feet, smiling victoriously. She held up her hand. In between her fingers was an individually wrapped strawberry sweet. It was one of her favourites and she started to unwrap it excitedly.

'Oi that's mine, dumbass! Give it back!' Grimmjow tried to grab the sweet off her but Saniya flash-stepped away from him.

'Nope, finders keepers!' she winked at him and popped the sweet into her mouth. 'Yum yumm, I love strawberry. 'she smiled. 'I'd share it with you but you wouldn't want it with my spit all over it'

She laughed. 'Too bad Grimmi, you're miss-'

She broke off as he reached out, lifting her chin up and squeezing gently. Her mouth opened slightly as he looked at her seriously.

'I don't mind sharing' he said softly.

His blue eyes seemed lighter than before. She froze her body unable to move. She didn't want to breathe as his face moved closer towards her. She could feel his breath graze her cheek, warm against her skin, slowly travelling towards her lips. Her mind went blank as she closed her eyes.

'ahh' Grimmjow uttered quietly, chuckling a little, bringing himself closer to her. 'I love the smell of strawberries.' He stopped right in front of her face. 'But If I can't have that sweet, then... neither can you.' Saniya's eyes snapped open; something wasn't right about his tone. There was a movement to her left. She saw his quick hand about to reach in and grab the sweet out her mouth. She leapt out of his way and stumbled a little, her heart pounding rapidly.

_He tricked her!_

'It's just a sweet! You're so selfish!' she yelled running towards him and kicking him in the shin before sprinting off.

'Of course I wanted the sweet back! What were you expecting?' he called after her in between hopping painfully.

She leaned against the wall of the training building a few minutes later, trying to steady her pulse. She couldn't believe it, how could she have let her guard down so easily? It was so unprofessional, what was she expecting anyway?

She put her fingers on her cheek, centimetres from her mouth, trailing the same route he had taken, recalling the feel of his breath on her skin.

Her body shivered.

This was dangerous. A few more seconds and she probably would have done something stupid, like let him kiss her.

Oh God, she really was a dumbass. Saniya turned around and faced the wall.

She couldn't let this happen again.

'Stupid Smurfhead' she whispered, cooling her glowing cheeks against the cold stone wall.

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><p><strong>AN. Awww Grimmi, I love writing about him, he's so damn cute! :D Thank you for reading! I hope you squealed your arses off at this chapter :P**


	15. Nnoitora Gilga

Chapter 15- Nnoitra Gilga

She avoided him.

She couldn't stand seeing his knowing stare as they both caught each other's eyes while training. She looked down hastily and began working on her cero, trying to focus her energy on the attack like she had been instructed to.

'Cero.' a meek beam shot out her finger and hit the sand weakly. Saniya sighed, frustrated. She hadn't been able to repeat the attack from the box task. She must be doing something wrong. She tried again. No luck.

'Little girl,' Barragan called out to her. 'Your cero is so weak, you wouldn't even be able to kill a fly with it' He looked over at Harribel who training nearby, 'I thought you said she broke the box? Did you imagine it that day? Look at her, the cero she shot out was so _weak!'_

Harribel threw a block of wood at him which he dodged. 'Get back to training old man' she said cooly.

Nnoitra stopped training and slithered up to Saniya. 'What's wrong, lil sis?' he asked, mock-concernedly. 'Hey, hey Grimmi! What did you do to her?' He frowned at the espada. ' You're not supposed to work her too hard, know your limits!' he waggled his finger at him sternly.

'Shut the hell up!' snarled Grimmjow, violently smashing through blocks that Szayel was throwing at him.

'heh, heh' giggled Nnoitra, pleased that he managed to anger him easily. The new girl sure did make things livelier! He turned to her and his smile vanished into a scowl. 'What happened to you anyway? I didn't acknowledge you becoming an espada only to have you turn into a weakling who can't use cero. 'He stood with his hands behind his back and leaned forward till he was in front of her face. 'Hey, hey how's about you and I have a teeny battle so that you can gain my respect again?' He looked at her challengingly.

Saniya shrugged. 'What sort of battle?'

The smile returned. 'ohh let's see, what sort of battle? I doubt you'll be able to defeat me. How about a one point battle, espada stlye?' he grinned already sure about his victory.' All you have to do is put one scratch on me. One scratch and then the battle's over. '

'Fine.'

Saniya jumped backwards avoiding his sudden lunge; she predicted that he'd attack her straightaway. He was a no-nonsense, straight to the point kind of guy.

'Nice reflexes lil sis' he said, licking his lips from force of habit. The number '5' tattoo on his tongue flashed briefly at her. 'But you do know that my hierro is the toughest hierro in the entire history of the Espada!' He lunged again and she dodged wondering how she'll be able to get close to him.

Damn, if only she could use her six rods, prison of light, she'd be able to restrain him and get a cut in no problem! His lunge attacks were too fast for her, if she was ever momentarily distracted, he'd be able to cause her damage.

Just one scratch. That's all she needed.

She tried flash-stepping but it was no use, he caught up to her easily. She turned around and tried to catch him off-guard with her new speed.

He whacked her away like a fly.

She felt the impact of his swipe as she hit the sand below them. The rest of the espadas had cleared out the way and were watching from the sidelines. They were used to the tall espada's random battles. They also knew that it wouldn't last long and they could return to their training after.

Saniya picked herself up and shuddered at the thought of his power once he had released. At least now, he was only_playing_ with her. He merely used her as an excuse to stave off boredom. She wouldn't stand much of a chance if he was fighting her for real.

She continued trying to get close to him but failed every time she thought there was an opening. It was almost like he could read her thoughts and he was always there to hit her away again. He kept the fight up in the air. It satisfied him to watch her crash into the sand from a high altitude. The sound of her hitting the floor and creating a cloud of dust afterwards was like music to his ears.

Saniya was getting fed up, if she could use her bankai, she would have slashed his body into little chunks. Damn this mission! She scanned his body; there must be a weak point somewhere!

Nnoitra watched as she looked him up and down looking for weaknesses. Waste of time he thought to himself, I have no weak points. Yet, in spite of everything, he was quite impressed with the new girl. Apart from a few cuts and scratches, she was keeping up nicely. He sensed her hesitation and moved in for the kill.

He stopped as a thought then came to him causing him to grin sadistically.

'How you coping there?' he asked her. 'Not too bashed up?'

'I'm fine!' she replied, examining a bleeding cut.

'That's great...' his grin didn't falter 'since you're having trouble with your cero, how about I show you how it's done?'

Saniya looked up at him sharply 'how are you going to-'

A flash of yellow suddenly sped towards her and she remembered seeing red. Nnoitra fired his cero from his tongue and folded his arms, watching as the attack found its mark. Dust flew up into the air in frenzy and the victim disappeared within it.

'...and that's what a cero attack is meant to look like!' he said gleefully. There's no way she could have avoided that attack, she was finished. The box task was definitely a fluke, she was weak, his attack proved that. He turned to look at his spectators- the idiots who held such ridiculously high hopes for her. He wanted to see their shocked faces, the reaction to seeing the new recruitment beaten to a pulp, but only grave ones looked back at him. He smiled; the shock will definitely catch up to them soon.

'Didn't anyone teach you not to turn your back on your opponent?

Nnoitra whipped round in shock expecting the fiery girl to sneak up on him but no-one was there. The cloud of dust was still settling, he strained his eyes to see if she was still among it.

'I'm over here!' a voice to his left called

He turned round frantically. Where the hell was she? He couldn't feel her presence anywhere.

'Nope, over here!' this time, the voice was close to his right ear. He started punching the air around him wildly trying to land a lucky punch at her.

'Too slow.' She appeared in front of his face, winked at him and fell down before disappearing.

Nnoitra blinked twice, suddenly feeling very vulnerable.

Flash. She was in front of his face again.

Flash. At his knees.

Flash. She withdrew her sword and slashed down his shin in one quick motion.

He blinked slowly, watching everything in slow motion.

What just happened?

Blood seeped through the right side of his hakama, staining the white material crimson.

Nnoitra replayed the last few minutes in his mind. Her appearance had changed when she stopped in front of him. Her eyes were cold and there was a dark red slit where her pupils should have been.

She looked like a devil.

As soon as she drew her sword, a dark aura had swept over her and she had a bloodthirsty look in her face as she cut his skin. His strong hierro. She had cut through it as though it was butter.

Unbelievable.

Saniya sheathed her sword and looked at him solemnly; her eyes back to normal, registering the cut she had made on his leg. He looked at it as well, his clothes steadily absorbing the blood and spreading the crimson further down his leg.

'Well, would you look at that?' he asked softly. He looked at her, a new gleam of respect in his eyes.

'You win lil sis. '

Saniya smiled at him briefly but there was still a trace of darkness in her perfect face. There was also a tinge of red in her eyes. She was angry that she had to resort to that, it was inconvenient for her and she hadn't mastered it completely. Things could have easily backfired on her.

She would have to work harder to control it.

Akuma's Jigoku.

Failure would mean death.

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><p><strong>AN. Sorry about the seriousness of this chapter! This is an important chapter, need to get you all thinking about Saniya for a bit :D Reviews will be appreciated, was the fight scene accurate enough? Too long, too short? Please let me know! Thank you very much for reading!**


	16. Acceptance

**A/N. Please enjoy the chapter and make me happy knowing that you're happy reading my story :) :) :)**

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><p>Chapter 16- Acceptance<p>

It was dark outside, as always. Saniya looked up at the sky and the moon that peeked over a lone cloud, shining brightly. Why Aizen bothered with it all she'll never know. But the serene view was calming and she enjoyed the sense of peace it brought her. She trudged away from the training ground, leaving the other espadas to continue by themselves.

They had all congratulated her for beating Nnoitra and invited her for dinner at their meeting room but she refused them politely. She wasn't in the mood for celebrating; it was only by luck that she had managed to sneak up on him anyway. She didn't feel like a winner at all.

Her cuts were bleeding and the scratches burned but she took no notice of them. The pain reminded her of the espada's strength. If they were all as strong as that, soul society stood no chance. She was in a brooding mood; she needed to find somewhere to think. She headed back towards her room. The orange haired girl flashed through her mind, she forgot they had shared the room together.

Saniya was fond of Orihime but she was getting tired of her constant chatting and she found the girl too needy. She sighed, where can she get some peace?

She walked back outside again and searched around for someplace quiet. She came across the dome and looked up at the tall structure. The roof of it seemed flat enough, she made her way towards it landing softly, and making sure she was alone.

She straightened up and looked around. The view from there was fantastic. Saniya gazed out at the sand in awe, taking in the breathtaking sight. The moon shone brightly where she stood; the backwards crescent shape making everything look brighter than it really was. She sat down near the edge and enjoyed its company.

She listened to silence. There was no noise, it was all very calm and still. Saniya sighed happily. Finally, she had found a place for herself to think. To think about what to do and how to proceed carefully. This was her mission after all; she couldn't afford to be friends with the enemy.

'What are you doing here?'

Saniya turned around, shocked that someone had found her so quickly. Her eyes narrowed and her shoulders slumped when she saw who it was. She turned back around to the view of hueco mundo, ignoring his question.

'Go away, Ulqui-loser, I'm trying to relax' she told him firmly.

'So am I, Trash-ball' he replied, standing next to her.

Saniya scrambled up to her feet and faced him angrily.

'Who you calling a trash-ball?'

'Who are you calling a loser?'

'Why are you following me?'

'Do you own this whole dome?'

'Why are you always replying back with another question?'

'Why are you making it easy to answer back with another question?'

Saniya was about to reply back rudely when she decided there was no point.

'Forget it, this is getting nowhere'

She sat back down again, crossing her legs and staring blankly at the horizon.

Ulquiorra glanced over at her out of the corner of his eyes. He wondered why she suddenly gave up. Normally, she would have argued until she won or used her fists to further ensure her victory. This behaviour was unlike her.

He coughed uncomfortably and pointed at an isolated tree which was relatively far away. A green beam charged out his finger and ripped the tree into shreds. Saniya watched the power of his cero silently. It was so like him to mock her like that, showing off how he could everything perfectly and she couldn't. Always looking down on her.

'Ceros are based on spirit power and death lust' he said quietly. 'Without those factors, the cero becomes weak and powerless' He turned his head towards her. 'Just like you.'

Saniya brought her knees up and hugged her legs while resting her head against her arms. She moved her head to the side, facing away from the espada, and nodded numbly. Her long, black hair fell forwards, catching the light from the moon.

Ulquiorra stood transfixed at the motion of her hair, thinking deeply. She had not risen to the bait he dangled in front of her. She should have been angry at his insult and then tried to hit him but she had done neither of these things. The girl had definitely lost hope.

'Get up. 'he commanded her, authority strong in his voice.

Saniya turned her head towards him, her head still resting against her arms.

'Why?' she asked flatly, her voice muffled.

'Just do it' the impatience in his voice was noticeable.

She got up reluctantly and looked at the green-eyed man in front of her. His skin was even paler in the moonlight, his eyes richer in colour. He stood in his usual aloof position, although his arms were at his sides instead of in his pockets.

'How did you feel when you performed the cero in the box?' he inquired.

She thought back to the box task and the flashback of her mum dying and the man killing her using that same attack. She had felt a lot of anger that day. It had bubbled up inside of her and threatened to overflow. That emotion had changed her life, but she couldn't tell him that.

I felt angry, I guess' she shrugged her shoulders. 'I wanted to rip the doll apart as quickly as possible.'

His mouth twitched.

'I see. I know what must be done now.'

Saniya looked at him and his expressionless face in confusion.

He used his sonido and appeared in front of her before he pushed her onto the floor.

She landed on the floor with a bump and sat, looking up at him in shock.

'What the hell was that for?' she demanded, standing up again.

He pushed her back onto the floor and said nothing. He continued to do this every time she attempted to get back on her feet.

'Stop it!' she yelled as he pushed her for what seemed like the hundredth time. He moved forwards to prolong what he was doing but she smacked his hands away and glared at him, the black aura creeping around her again.

'I will kill you if you push me one more time' she threatened, taking one step towards him.

He dropped his arms back to his side and looked at her arrogantly.

'Trash who can't use cero can never touch me let alone kill me'

Saniya clenched her fists. That was it! She had enough of people talking down to her, she had enough of not being able to master cero and most of all, she had enough of being called trash.

'STOP CALLING ME THAT!' she yelled, pointing her finger at him. 'CERO!' the force of her voice echoed around the desert as the beam streaked out her finger and raced towards Ulquiorra, her mark.

He dodged the attack easily enough but the building nearby was not as lucky. There was a mighty boom as a hole was blasted through the structure.

Szayel's lab.

Nearly a whole section of wall had been completely annihilated. Saniya stood, breathing heavily and staring at the destruction she had caused, the anger leaving her body as quickly as it came.

'Did I really just do that?' she whispered.

He nodded grimly, 'Szayel won't be too happy when he sees this. But still, it couldn't be helped, it was the only way to get you back to your normal self.' He turned away from the chaos.

'Your normal, violent, rude and stupid self' he added under his breath and walking away.

Saniya tried to muster up anger at his words but ended up laughing instead. Her mood had lifted, she felt blissfully happy being able to fire ceros at will, and she felt much stronger. He had helped her get through it and she was grateful to him.

'Hey, Ulquiorra, what's up with your tear stains? They aren't really normal things to have, you should really get them checked out!' she teased as she walked faster to keep up with him.

He whipped around and glared at her before saying 'You're the one who needs checked out, your face looks like someone went wild with a red-marker pen and played tic-tac-toe on it.'

She stopped abruptly and automatically reached up to her face, remembering the fight with Nnoitra. She had completely forgotten about her cuts and winced as she became aware of the pain again.

He looked at her, slightly bemused. 'Why did you even attempt to fight with Nnoitra Gilga anyway? Even _I _wouldhesitate at having a battle with him.'

She shrugged. 'I'm obviously braver than you are.'

'Stupidity and bravery are not the same thing' he muttered, suddenly grabbing her arm and sonidoing to her room. He walked in without knocking, still keeping a firm hold on her.

'Ulquiorra-san, what are you doing here so late at night?' Orihime asked, flustered at his sudden arrival and her unkempt appearance.

'Woman, heal this moron' he pushed Saniya towards her.

'uhh- yes, of course, right away ' she replied instantly covering Saniya in the orange glow. He watched for a couple of minutes before leaving swiftly.

The other espadas will be finishing their training about now, he wanted to avoid useless questions about where he had previously been. He stood near the training ground, waiting for them to come out.

Grimmjow was first to go out, stretching happily. He was always like this after training. He spotted Ulquiorra, standing in the shadows. 'Oi, Ulquiorra, why'd you leave training so early?'

'I had duties' came the reply.

'What duties? What sort out duties do you-'

Grimmjow's question was drowned out by a scream of horror. Szayel stood gaping at something ahead, his finger pointing shakily at a cloud of black smoke rising up in the exact location of his lab.

'What happened to my lab!' he looked at each espada who had crowded round to look at the smoke and registered their blank faces. 'Who did this?'

Ulquiorra stood forward, 'By the looks of it, It would seem that the moron lost control of her cero and hit your lab instead of the target she was supposed to attack. I've noticed that she gets distracted easily. 'He walked away towards his quarters. 'Do not worry, Szayel, I'll get someone to fix it very soon.'

'I know that,' sighed Szayel 'But I want to know _who_ did it! Who dared to knock down my precious lab and all my lovely experiments?'

Ulquiorra turned his head round to face him, very nearly managing a smile.

'My Assistant.'


	17. The Item

Chapter 17- The Item

Life in Las Noches carried on. Saniya continued pretending to be an arrancar, espada training in between. She had trouble gaining respect from the other arrancars, they thought she had cheated while squirming her way to the top, but she didn't care. Her mission was to spy on Aizen and Aizen alone

...so why was she outside Ulquiorra's room spying to see if he was there? She peered into his mostly empty room. One bed, one desk and a chair. Typical. He spent most of his time here, what did he get up to?

Saniya pondered this question before hearing footsteps approaching. She pulled the door shut and as fast as lightning, she sprinted down the corridor and crouched down in hiding behind the corner. She peered round to see who it was. Her panic subsided; it was just two arrancar girls giggling to each other. They way they acted caught Saniya's attention. One of the girls kept looking behind them as though half expecting to be followed. She had short and spiky blonde hair, her mask covering one of her eyes. She nodded at the other girl to signal that the way was clear.

Saniya watched the other girl closely. She had long pigtailed black hair and her mask also covered one of her eyes. She sneaked forward with something in her hand. She took a quick breath and briskly slipped it underneath Ulquiorra's door. She ran back to her friend who gave her a hi-5 as they both raced away giggling.

Saniya's curiosity had reached critical level. What did the girl put under his door? They were laughing so was the item dangerous? Saniya smirked. Of course he would have enemies; he went around calling people trash and never spoke more than he thought was necessary. People would obviously resent him for that!

But still... doing something like that seemed a bit extreme. And a little bit unfair.

She moved away from her hiding spot and stopped in front of his door.

She hesitated.

The guy was a cold bastard, why should she help him? The flashback of the previous days burned in her mind. He _had_helped her get her confidence back in using her cero and he helped with her training. Strangely enough, when she approached the other espadas for assistance, they all seemed to have sudden errands or duties to attend to and couldn't help her. Yet, they always managed to pluck Ulquiorra from the shadows, claiming that he was free and happy to help.

The man had scowled but never said anything. From then, he had been trying to increase her cero's power but it had been difficult and he always sighed exasperated at her. She would shout back at him or fire a cero just to startle him into showing emotion.

But he stayed the same: cool,calm and collected. It annoyed the hell out of her.

And here she was, outside his room once again, knowing that there was something potentially dangerous on the other side of the door. _She had to know what it was._ She crawled onto her hands and knees and gazed under the gap in the door. She looked for the item but couldn't see anything. Maybe the thing would turn invisible to people who weren't meant to see it? But how could two little girls manage that? Saniya quietly scoffed at her outrageous theory.

'What the hell are you doing under Ulquiorra's door?'

Saniya leapt up and faced the intruder

Grimmjow.

'What the cheese Grimm! Stop sneaking up on people, holy biscuits, I nearly crapped myself'

He looked at her as though she was crazy and tried to see what she was doing. He got down on his hands and knees and looked around. 'What were you looking for?' he asked still looking under the door. 'Did you drop something?' He turned his head and blinded her with his dazzling blue eyes. Saniya stared at them for a while before realising that he was still waiting for an answer.

'No, I didn't drop anything' she said quietly, afraid to meet his eyes 'what are you doing in this part anyway?'

He paused and then stood up wiping dust off his hands. 'I'm looking for Loly and Menoly. Have you seen them? They always skip out on their duties. When I catch them...' he trailed off menacingly.

'I saw two run girls up that way' she pointed in their opposite direction 'but I dunno if that's them.'

'It probably is. They're always together; maybe they're secretly going out with each other?' He beamed at the thought.

'That's disgusting' she said disapprovingly, seeing his pervy grin.

Grimmjow stopped smiling and put his hands in his pocket. 'Whatever. I better go and find them.' He looked at her and suddenly remembered.

'Oh, before I forget. Here, take this.'

He threw something over to her and she caught it in surprise. She looked down at it and smiled.

It was her favourite strawberry sweet.

She looked at him questioningly.

'It's an umm... apology sweet. For...last time, I shouldn't have tried to take it back from you.' He looked at the floor and kicked the small stones away.

''It's fine, I was wrong for taking it away from you in the first place. Can I eat this?' He nodded. 'Thank you very much!' she said happily.

He grunted and walked away quickly so that she couldn't see the embarrassment on his face.

She was about to eat the sweet when she remembered Ulquiorra's room and the unknown item. She swivelled round to examine under the door once again and came face to face with the room's owner.

She gasped at how close he was standing in front of her. How long had he been there anyway?

'What are you doing here?' she asked him, unable to hide the shock from her voice.

He looked at her coldly and said in a bored voice 'My room's here. What are you doing in front of it?'

She laughed and tried to wriggle out of her awkward situation. 'I guess I got lost again, oopsie, I'll be leaving now.'

He reached for the door handle of his room and Saniya reacted on instinct. She lunged for the handle, laying her hand on top of this as she kept the door shut. Good, he hadn't opened it, that thing probably won't explode or whatever it's meant to do. He looked from her relieved face to her hand above his and asked 'What do you think you're doing?'

She blushed and focused on keeping the door shut, trying to ignore the feeling of his skin against hers. His skin felt warm, it was surprisingly nice. Her heartbeat climbed. He tried to shake her off but she was determined to keep the door shut.

He was getting irritated. 'What is it?' he asked impatiently.

'You can't go in there' she said quietly. 'It's dangerous.' He looked at her to see if she was being serious, she kept her eyes on the handle, willing it not to let the door open.

He sighed. 'You're cutting off my blood circulation' he removed his hand as he positioned it to push her away.

'NO!' she cried, ducking under his arm and blocking the door. 'You can't go in'

He stepped back and looked at her worried face.

'What's so dangerous that I can't see? It's my room.'

She shook her head, keeping her hand firmly on the handle and leaning against the door.

He stepped closer till his face was aligned with hers; they were mere centimetres away from each other. His dangerous green eyes were mesmerizing. He must have done something to her; she couldn't move or look away.

He grabbed the door handle and her hand during the process and pushed.

The door opened and Saniya felt herself falling back, she had put all her weight against the door and now she had no support.

Smoothly, Ulquiorra tightened his grip on her hand and pulled her back up, wrapping his arm around her waist to hold her up. Once she was stable, he severed all contact and looked around his room. He picked something up from the floor and examined it. Saniya looked round too, after trying to lower her rapid pulse, where was that item? Her eyes fell upon the piece of paper he was holding.

It suddenly hit her that the item under his door was just a note! How stupid to get so worked up over a _note._

He looked at her and scrunched the piece of paper up. He let it fall to the floor and said calmly, 'I destroyed the hazardous item. You kept me away from my room because you thought an inanimate, 2D object was dangerous enough to hurt me. 'He didn't disguise his sarcastic tone.

Saniya scowled at the floor, how was she meant to know it was just a piece of paper? Why did those girls act that way anyway?

She bent down to pick up the piece of paper. She unscrunched it and quickly read the top line. The paper was covered in little love hearts.

She frowned at the note while he watched her reaction. She looked at him in disbelief.

'A love letter? Did they get the wrong room or something?'

'Who's they?' he folded his arms and regarded her coolly.

'Those two girls! They ran over and put this under your door!' She acted the whole procedure frantically. ' I thought it was dangerous because they acted so weird.' She laughed. 'What a waste of time, they got the wrong room, how embarrassing!'

He sighed. 'Moron. Read the next line.'

She looked down at the note again and picked out one word: Ulquiorra. The letter was definitely intended for him.

She could feel his gaze on her; she didn't have to look up to know that he was wearing his smug look. She couldn't believe that people would actually spend time writing him a love letter! Waste of time really, she looked at the crumpled note. They should have known that this would be the outcome of their efforts.

She looked up at him sternly. 'Ok, so the letter was meant for you, why'd you ruin it like that? Someone poured their heart out on that letter!'

He didn't say anything but walked over to his desk. He pulled out a bin underneath and tipped it over. The bin was overflowing with paper. She looked at the spilled contents: love heart covered letters. All crumpled up. Geez, how many did this guy get? She didn't know how popular he was with girls.

He folded his arms again, satisfied at her shocked silence. 'These occurrences are normal so kindly try not to save my life in the future.'

She stuck her tongue out at him. Crazy bastard. She turned round to leave before remembering her sweet. Where did she put it? Did she drop it somewhere? She could do with a sugar rush right about now. She scanned the floor for a pink wrapper but it wasn't there. She looked round the door and the area nearby.

'Are you looking for this?' He held out the sweet in his hand.

'Yes! Thanks for finding it!' she reached out for it but he closed his hand and pulled it back away from her.

'Is your cero stronger?'

'I'll get it stronger soon, gimme the sweet.'

'No sweets till you perfect it.'

She flashed him one of her innocent looks. 'Please?'

He snorted at her.

Saniya glowered at him. Those sweets were hard to get. They only existed in the real world, a place where you couldn't casually walk to since humans couldn't see shinigamis. That sweet was like treasure to her. She needed it back.

'If you don't give me that sweet back, I'll go gather your fan club and tell them that you've given them permission to stalk you around the whole day! And that you loved their letters and want them to write more!' she glared at him, her dark aura rising.

Something flashed through his eyes- anger? surprise? horror? It was gone in an instant as he straightened up. 'If you gather that group of trash, I'll make it so that you become their enemy and they won't leave you alone.'

They both glared at each other, their dark auras surrounding the whole room.

'How are you going to do that?'

'Don't worry about that, it'll be easy. If any of them pass by, which will be relatively soon, they'll see you in my room and you'll already be considered an enemy.'

'How does that make me an enemy?'

'No-one else has ever been in my room.'

She paused taking in this new information. She couldn't help but feel a bit special that he let her into his room. She wondered if Orihime had ever seen it and quickly pushed the question out her brain.

'I don't mind being their enemy. I have a feeling you're more worried about my threat than I am about yours.' She walked towards him letting him visualise the potential of her threat. 'Just imagine it, tons of giggling and whispering girls following you around, knowing everything you do, taking pictures, _more_fanmail...'

That did it.

She could see him weakening as he saw the horror of her words. She smiled and stretched out her hand. 'All you have to do is give me the sweet and I'll make sure none of them go near you.'

He looked at her and considered her proposal. 'Are you saying you will be my bodyguard?' He looked slightly amused. 'As if a moron like you could ever play that role.'

She pouted. 'At least I can try! Screw this; you can handle those girls on your own.

'I've been doing that for a long time now' he slowly unwrapped the sweet and examined it.

She began to panic. 'Whoa, whoa. Back up a minute. We can work something out, I'll perfect the cero, don't eat my sweet!'

'I don't think you'll be able to' He lifted the sweet up to his mouth and ate it.

Saniya watched him in horror. 'Oh my God, you just ate-I can't-why'd you eat it!' She looked at him in disgust. 'You don't even like strawberry, you just wasted it. Arghh fuck you!'

She ran towards the door and opened it before he slammed it shut and pushed her down. She sat on the floor heavily, her back against the door while he loomed over in front of her.

She looked at him angrily. 'What the hell Ulqu-' He pushed something into her mouth while she was talking, silencing her.

'Shut up, moron' he hissed listening to the footsteps outside.

She sat there in surprise and rolled the item around her mouth. It was sweet. Strawberry flavour. So he didn't eat the strawberry candy after all. She smiled and settled back, enjoying the sugar.

He looked at her curiously. How she could sit calmly and happily in a situation like this, he'll never know.

The usual love letter was slipped under his door and he looked at it in hate. The footsteps faded away and he sighed in relief. Stupid girl, they were nearly caught.

He looked down at her and saw her already looking at him. It caught him by surprise. The scent of strawberries wafted up to him and he found himself inhaling it deeply. It was intoxicating.

'Thanks for not eating my sweet' she whispered even though the danger had passed.

'I don't like strawberry' he murmured back. She smiled as they both looked at each other in the comfortable silence. He tore his eyes away from her liquid chocolate gaze and picked the letter off the floor. He walked towards the bin, his back turned to her.

'You have training now, you better hurry before they wonder where you've gone' he told her.

She stood up carefully and nodded.

She reached for the door handle and opened it slowly. The corridor was empty.

'Practise your cero, I'll be there shortly' he said. She nodded once again and left before the blush could form on her face.

He stood at the desk and sighed deeply. He could still smell the sweet trace of strawberries around the room.

Unknown to them, further down the corridor, behind the corner, someone had watched as she left his room.

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><p><strong>AN. Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed it. It took about ten strawberry sweets for me to write this chapter. I'll have to visit the dentist soon! But, my dear readers, I hope it's been sweet enough for you**** )**


	18. Emotion

**A/N Readers, please help me out, particularly those living in America! I live in the UK and we call our confectionary 'sweets'. I'd just like to know if you'd be fine with me calling them sweets or if I should change it to candy instead? I've been using both terms the last couple of chapters so that no-one will get confused over the term (see how nice I am? ) but this is really just to make it easier for me. :) So please let me know. Your help is always appreciated! Oh, and as always, enjoy the chapter!**

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><p>Chapter 18- Emotion<p>

'No freakin' way! '

Saniya backed away from the piece of paper two arrancar girls held out to her.

'Please! It's important! Just give it to him while you're both training, you two are friends aren't you?'

She looked at the paper as though it was a snake. She hated snakes.

'Why don't you give it to him personally? It defies the purpose of a love letter if it's sent indirectly. Speaking of which, why are you both giving it to him? Did you sign both of your names?' she looked at them confused.

The girls giggled. 'No, no Grimmjow is for everyone to enjoy, we can't monopolize him. This letter is from everyone.'

'Everyone?'

'The Grimmi Fan Club!' they beamed.

Oh dear God, she thought to herself, this place is bonkers. What the hell am I doing this for? I should have just kept to myself and stayed in soul society...

The rolled up piece of paper flapped in front of her face. She snatched it and said curtly 'Fine, but you two owe me!'

'Yes, we know. One bag of strawberry sweets from the world of the living as payment. We'll get it to you as soon as we can!'

She looked at them closely, looking for signs of betrayal. They both raised their hands up. 'You have our word Saniya! Now go give it to him quickly!'

They pushed her in the direction of the training ground. Normal arrancars weren't allowed to train with the espadas. The girls sighed mournfully as they kept close to Saniya making sure the letter got delivered.

'You're so lucky you get to train with him, I've tried so hard to become worthy of being an espada but my reiatsu is so low, it's almost undetectable beside them. '

Saniya grunted in reply. This was getting ridiculous, oh the things she did for candy. Let it be as painless as possible.

The letter felt like weights as she trudged towards the familiar training ground. They ushered her on watching closely from outside the building.

She watched everyone getting ready to start training. Sooner or later that smurfhead will wander over and try to surprise attack her. She was ready for him.

A couple of minutes passed and there was no sign of him. She looked around the training ground, trying to spot the familiar blue hair but it was not there.

Damn him, he must be skipping training again!

She was unusually frustrated at his absence, probably because she was tied down with the responsibility of delivering the stupid letter, but she couldn't help but feel a little bit abandoned. Training was his favourite past time other than actually going out to kick butt on missions. She wondered what happened to make him skip out.

'cero.' A beam flew out of nowhere and she narrowly dodged it, whipping round to catch her attacker.

'You weren't focused on training.' An expressionless voice told her.

'Shut up, I've not even begun warming up, how am I supposed to train right away?' she growled, turning her back on him and scanning the surrounding area once again. 'Ulquiorra, You haven't seen Grimmjow by any chance have you?'

'Why are you looking for him? 'the question came out a bit sharp, he hadn't intended it to sound that way. She noticed it as well.

'I want to find him so that I can ask him to marry me' she said sarcastically. 'Stupid moron' she muttered under her breath.

He picked up the piece of paper she dropped while she was dodging his cero. 'Is the proposal written in here?' His eyes lingered on the piece of paper. She snatched it away from him and told him to mind his own business.

Ulquiorra raised his delicate eyebrows at her reaction. He only saw it for a second but that letter definitely had love heart prints on it, was she planning on giving it to Grimmjow? The thought punched him in the stomach and he suddenly felt like hunting the blue-haired espada down. He shook his head to rid himself of the thoughts but they continued to swirl around him as he watched her ask others about the sexta epada's location. Rationality was telling him to calm down but the demon inside him roared for blood and murder.

He didn't understand what was going on, these feelings...they were so unnatural. All these new emotions. Each one surrounded that girl and tied them together. That girl. What did she do to him? Since when had he become so _weak?_ Since when did he ever _feel?_ He couldn't have emotions, he never let himself have any. Emotions were a nuisance; they hindered progress and clouded great minds.

He watched as she trained with Harribel. He noted how much stronger she had become, he could see her cero growing stronger with each passing day. He stared at the way her limbs moved flawlessly and how her long hair fell back in place effortlessly. He felt at ease just by watching her, the demon calmed down and he could then think clearly. The first thought that went through his mind was how she was no longer thinking about _that_espada and was finally focusing on her training. The world was right again.

Grimmjow peered over the fourth espada's shoulder trying to see what he had been looking at. 'Yo Ulqui, whatcha starin' at? '

Ulquiorra edged away from him irritably.

'You're late Grimmjow' he said dryly.

'Yeah I know' he replied scratching his blue hair. 'You should look after that human girl more; she was crying about something stupid and wouldn't let me leave. Damn! I'm really late, it's gonna be over soon!' He ran over to Saniya to try and sneak up on her but she whacked him away without turning around from Harribel.

'Wow, how'd you know I was there? ' he asked excitedly 'I masked my reiatsu and everything!'

'You didn't mask your smell' she said, wrinkling her nose. 'You stink.' 'Why were you so late dumbass? I nearly had no-one to train with' the words came out without her realising; she quickly regretted them when she saw his stunned reaction. He stopped sniffing himself and grinned at her.

'Ehh, are you saying you missed me?' he teased.

'No. I just wanted to know if you had any sweets.' She replied coldly, fighting the blush.

'Oh.' He looked a little disappointed. 'I'm all outta sweets, you wiped out my stock' he said, casually throwing a punch at her.

She stepped back from his range and remembered the letter. This letter was the key to her supply of candy. I just have to give it to him and then I'll be in sugarland in no time! She took it out and gave it to him wordlessly. He looked at the letter in confusion.

'What's this?'

But she ignored his question and resumed training with Harribel, keeping a safe distance from him.

He unrolled the letter and scanned it, his face going through a series of emotions- Confusion. Shock.

And finally,

Happiness.

He saw it all from the shadows where he stood. He saw her give him the letter. It took all his willpower not to reach out and destroy it. He saw Grimmjow's face as he read the letter. The smile that formed afterwards.

Happiness.

A human emotion linked to joy and contentment. An emotion opposite to misery and depression.

Emotions.

Complicated forces designed to break down even the toughest man. He felt it take over him as he watched the earlier display.

He could no longer fight against it.

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><p><strong>AN Sorry about the lack of updates, I'll do my best to keep it flowing so you don't have to wait as long! Chapter 19 very soon because I reckon 18 is a bit too short..don't worry, I'll try and make it as awesome as possible! Thanks for reading :D**


	19. POV's

A/N. – Thanks for all your help with the different terminologies! Enjoy :D

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><p>Chapter 19- POVS<p>

'Ulquiorra-san! Where have you been?'

Orihime ran forwards towards the man who had slouched into her room. 'I've been waiting for you the whole day. ' she smiled shyly at him.

He stood in the middle of the room and looked at her. 'I was busy.'

'ohhh, I see, of course, you must be really busy looking after all the new arrancars that have arrived.' She sniffed and then brightened up. 'Still, at least you're here!' She noticed his expression. 'Is something wrong?

'Were you crying about something?'

She looked surprised at his question.

'ahh don't worry about it, it was nothing, Grimmjow was there to help me so it's fine now.' She wanted to make him feel bad for leaving her by herself the whole day. This was too perfect an opportunity to waste.

'I see. What made you stop crying?'

'Um he just stayed there till I calmed down. He kept telling me to 'shut up' and 'stop being such a human' all the way through which made me cry even more!' she chuckled loudly before regaining her composure 'But I guess his presence helped a lot too. Just to know that someone was there with me made me feel a whole lot better!'

He cast his green eyes to the floor as he took in the information. Companionship equalled comfort. Had he ever felt that way before? He couldn't remember.

'-orra. Ulquiorra?' he looked up at the sound of his name.

Orihime looked at him worryingly. 'Are you feeling ok? You don't seem quite yourself. Maybe you're hurt!' The orange light immediately engulfed him.

He shook his head furiously. The light vanished.

'Okay then,' she said 'want to know what I did today? It's quite a funny story actually. Well, where do I begin? Um I had breakfast and then I got changed and then you know, there was a knock on the door so I-'

'Do you enjoy having people next to you?'

She paused and thought about the question before nodding enthusiastically.

'Of course, Ulquiorra! No-one wants to be alone. Think about me. I was alone the whole day! It was horrible. But anyway back to my-'

'Have you had dinner?' he asked flatly out of habit.

'Yeah I have but Ulquiorra listen to my story! Where was I? Uhhh-wait, Ulquiorra! Where are you going?'

He stopped at the archway of the door. There was nothing here for him.

'I'll be back in the morning'

He left her standing there watching as he left.

She walked over to her small dressing table a few minutes later and looked at herself in the mirror. She banged her fists against the table, her face clouded with anger.

'I won't forgive her!' she promised herself.

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><p>'It's been a pleasure working with you! Thank you, thank you!' Saniya gathered the bag of strawberry sweets from the arrancar girls delightedly.<p>

'No, thank you Saniya. It was priceless seeing his happy face!'

Saniya paused.

'He was happy?'

'Yeah! He even kept it, we're so happy!'

'Did you write a funny joke in it about his blue smurf hair?' she snorted at her joke.

'No, no,' they giggled. 'It was just a regular love letter, lots of hearts! Maybe he likes the hearts? Oh, this is fantastic; we're one step closer to him liking all of us, the letter proved it!'

One of the girls glanced at her watch. 'Well Saniya, we should be doing our duties right now so we'll have to say goodbye for today. Thanks once again! Enjoy the sweets!'

She smiled at them gently. 'Thank you, I will.' Her eyes sparkled brightly at the thought of eating those wondrous little treats. The bag was quite full, she'd be on a sugar rush for a little while, and she couldn't wait.

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><p>It was getting late. Grimmjow scuffed along the sands of Hueco Mundo thinking deeply.<p>

What was that letter about? All those hearts...did she really feel that way about him? Somehow the letter didn't match her ruthless personality...he bit his lip, confused over the sudden turn of events. He should have gone to training earlier; it was his bad luck that he happened to stumble across that orange haired state. She was sobbing in the hall just outside her room, there was no way to avoid her. She wouldn't shut up no matter how many times he told her to. The image of her crying face was still etched in his mind, he shook his head to get rid of it.

It was no use, it refused to budge. He sighed. Damn Ulquiorra. He should really look after his pets better. He remembered her asking him where the fourth espada was, why he didn't visit her, there were so many questions he didn't know the answer to. He wanted to help her, anything to get her to stop her pitiful cries. But she was only interested in hearing things about Ulquiorra, nothing else got her attention.

In the end he had stood there awkwardly, saying nothing, waiting for her to calm down by herself while silently cursing the emotionless espada. It worked eventually and her cries quietened down to only a few hiccups. He had offered her a blackcurrant drop, as a reward for not turning on the waterworks, but she refused him claiming she had to watch her figure.

He had scoffed at that comment and when she looked like she was about to start bawling again, he hastily changed the conversation to best flavour of sweet. She had paused to think about the question before answering back that red bean was her favourite.

He had stared at her as though she had suddenly grown two heads. Who would want to try that? he had questioned her but she only shrugged and pointed at herself as if that answered all his questions.

He remembered that she never got angry at his questions or threatened him with violence. The lack of all that was a little bit boring. It wasn't thrilling enough, but still, it was nice not to be abused for once...

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><p>He slouched down the corridor searching for something but he wasn't sure exactly what it was that he was searching for. He couldn't concentrate on anything, he felt a bitter taste in his mouth and he wanted to kill something.<p>

It wasn't his nature to kill blindly, he was always calm and he made sure to calculate everything before making his move. He was happy to complete Lord Aizen's requests, looking after the human girl was an example of this. But this time, he couldn't wait for Lord Aizen's order.

This time, it was personal.

* * *

><p>This was the life! She thought happily as she sat on the roof of the dome. It was now her favourite place to sit and relax. Saniya munched her sweets, looking out at the view of the never-ending sand and the backwards moon.<p>

She puzzled over Grimmjow's reaction to the letter. Did he always accept their letters kindly? It didn't seem like something he would do and yet those two girls saw it clearly. On the other hand, it seemed like it was the first time he ever accepted one of their letters. What was up with that?

She leaned back and looked up at the sky. It had only been two weeks since she set foot in Las Noches. Already so many things have happened and hardly any of it had anything to do with her mission, she had been slacking.

Hueco Mundo, Soul Society, The world of the living. Just what was Aizen planning? It had been a while since she heard anything from Soifon as well. She hoped everything was okay.

She made herself more comfortable on the dome, stretching out her arms and legs. Her legs connected with something. She sat up in alarm just in time to see the bag of sweets fall off the side of the dome towards the treacherous sands below.

She dived after them. There was no way in hell she'd let the sand dirty them after all she went through to obtain them.

The dome was much higher than she thought. She was in the wrong position, it would be dangerous to flash step here.

She should have thought about all that before she leapt off the roof. The sand was fast approaching.

Soon, she'd crash right into it. And it would hurt.

She closed her eyes so that she wouldn't need to witness her own death and waited for the impact.


	20. Caught

**A/N So sorry for the delay! Thank you for being patient with me, I promise faster updates in the future!**

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><p>Chapter 20- Caught<p>

'What sort of moron flies off the roof of the highest dome without any precaution?'

She opened her eyes at the sound of the voice. Was she still falling? Was she dead? Saniya was surprised that she could catch her breath. If she was dead, this probably wouldn't be possible.

Piercing green eyes glared at her sternly. They were still in the air, flying back up towards the dome. Saniya's eyes sharpened, they were moving away from the ground.

'FUCK!' she shouted, trying to squirm away from Ulquiorra's grasp. 'My babies! Let me down!'

The grip on her grew tighter as she kept wriggling.

'I cannot do that' he told her plainly.

'You don't understand, I dropped my sweets down there. I need to go find them before sand beetles eat them!'

'There are no sand beetles here, they don't exist.'

He put her down on the roof of the dome and watched as she peered over the edge to catch a glimpse of that bag.

'R.I.P my lovelies' she whispered dramatically.

Ulquiorra rolled his eyes behind her back.

'You never think of your safety before you jump into things. That's why you're a moron.'

'Shut up loser, what are you doing around these parts anyway? ' she snapped back.

'I was walking towards the throne room when this'- he took out the bag of sweets 'hit me on the head. '

With a cry of joy, she leapt towards the bag only to have it taken away from her grasp.

'Hey, what gives?' she demanded.

A slight smile played on the corner of his lips. 'Of course, I'll have to keep this bag as evidence of your violent nature. Who knows what will happen if I let you eat all these sweets, Hueco Mundo might get destroyed. Therefore, everything in this bag now belongs to me. '

'Stop bullshitting, give it back.'

'This bag is mine, what are you talking about?'

'GIVE IT BACK!'

He stayed silent for a couple of moments before walking away towards the trap door on the dome. It was the usual way they got in and out.

'This is what you should have done when you saw the sweets fall. You go down this door and take the stairs down to the bottom. I'll show you how it's done '

'Don't ignore me! I went through a lot of trouble to get those sweets. I need them back.'

'You're my assistant. Assistants don't walk around demanding favours or items. You have to earn them. You'll get this back...eventually. But until then, do everything as I say and don't do anything moronic.'

He walked down the stairs.

She stared after him and decided that this wasn't good enough.

'HELL NO!' she yelled as she raced down to catch him. 'Why should I do everything you tell me to? I'm not your slave! '

He waved the bag of sweets in her face.

'You don't make the rules around here. ' He stepped closer towards her. 'You should know who has authority and who doesn't. My assistant represents me so-

'No way am I gonna walk around being you. That would be boring and I don't do monotone. Anyway I-'

He ate one of her sweets which silenced her immediately as she looked at him in shock. She knew that this time he was eating it for real. Ulquiorra scrunched his face up as the sickly strawberry taste took over him. He enjoyed the smell much more when it was coming from her.

'I've proved my point now.' He said quietly. 'You can't make demands. Do you understand?'

'Yo Ulquiorra, Lord Aizen's looking for you, shouldn't you be at the throne room just now?

They both jumped, unaware of how close they were standing towards each other or how another presence was within their vicinity, particularly a blue haired one.

'I was just about to go there now' Ulquiorra informed the stranger while walking past him.

'Yeah' Grimmjow hissed. 'Wouldn't want to damage your perfect attendance now.'

Ulquiorra clenched his fists tightly. How could he have missed that person's spiritual pressure? He was always so aware of his surroundings. It was her. She made it impossible for him to think clearly. He wanted to drag the girl along with him; he wanted her at his side. It was dangerous leaving them together.

He looked back over his shoulder at them. He saw how Grimmjow walked towards her. He didn't want him to.

'About your letter,' Grimmjow said slowly.

'Yeah, what about it?' asked Saniya nervously, looking for an escape route.

'Well...is it true?'

She looked at him, scanning for traces of anger or hate. Had he found out that she was bribed with sweets? Did he know that the two girls had used her to deliver their letter knowing that he'd be more willing to accept it?

'Ok, ok! You got me.' She confessed raising her hands up.

'You really feel that way?'

'Yeah. I really feel the need to punch you in the face' she replied sweetly. 'What's up with all the questions? The girls gave me sweets in return for giving you the letter. It's not a big deal when you think about it, I just like sweets ok?'

He blinked at her in shock. 'What...are you talking about? That letter's not from you? Do you not like me?'

'Grimmjow, I-'

She was at a loss for words. Why was it such a big deal who the letter was from? She got sweets and the girls got their stupid letter delivered. Why was she getting all this hassle?

'I thought that letter was from you. Are you telling me that those giggling freak girls are the ones who wrote it? This is so f-'

'I didn't know it'll be such a big problem Grimmjow! You're just over-'

Thwack.

Something hard hit her on the forehead and landed on the floor lightly. She looked down to see a wrapped sweet and looked up sharply to see who threw it at her. It could only be one person.

Ulquiorra.

He motioned with his head indicating her to follow him silently. She understood only too well. She picked up the sweet and walked briskly towards him.

'Sorry Grimmjow, I can't talk just now. I have to see what Ulquiorra wants. '

Grimmjow stuck his hands in his pockets, sulkily. 'Why do you always follow him everywhere?' he muttered just loud enough for her to hear.

She turned and smiled at him, a tense aura flowing out from her.

'He's my mentor; I'm supposed to follow him.'

'Sure it's not coz you're in love with him or something?'

She froze before regaining her composure. 'Ah Grimmjow, I think you need to eat some sugar, you're not making any sense,' she replied. 'Here,' she smiled coldly at him, 'let me help you with your problem.'

She threw the sweet at his face forcefully and stormed away.

Ulquiorra watched incredulously.

'What you bogging at' she growled fiercely.

'Definitely violent' he muttered, pretending to write it down on a notepad.

'Shut up, I've not started on you yet, why'd you chuck that sweet at my face eh?'

'Isn't that obvious?'

'If it was obvious, I wouldn't need to ask, asswipe!'

He stopped walking and sighed, his eyes pondering. She watched him silently. His eyes. They were still that vibrant shade of green, the colour that always seemed to hold her captive and drown her in the most annoyingly pleasant way.

Those eyes were looking at her now, watching her looking at them. She snapped back to reality, embarrassed to be caught staring at him.

'Basically I saw him talking to you so I had to do something.' He said quietly, looking at the floor.

Her heart skipped a beat as she looked at him dubiously.

'What's that got to do with the sweet?'

'I don't like him talking to you, that guy's annoying so I had to hit you.'

'Why did you have to hit me?' she protested 'It hurt!'

He met her eyes which instantly immobilized her. 'I had to hit you because...'

She heard the static sound of his sonido technique as he suddenly appeared beside her, his head turned towards the side of her face as he leaned close to her ear. She felt his breath brush against her skin as he whispered slowly 'I'm a sadist, that's why.'

The blush formed on her cheeks and travelled down to her neck as she heard him chuckle wickedly. He truly was a demon. Too bad, the others couldn't see evidence of his parallel nature. She didn't dare look at him, to see the sadistic expression on his face. She stared down the corridor instead.

'I really need to go to the throne room now.' He moved away from her and she let out a sigh of relief. She hadn't noticed that she was holding her breath until now. 'Remember what I've told you, you must do everything I say Miss As-sis-tant' He paused. 'If you don't, I'll be forced to take a disciplinary approach...like the one you thoroughly enjoyed and experienced today.' He chuckled again as Saniya tried her best to calm her heart down.

She reeled round to see him walking away from her.

'Ulquiorra, You bastard...DON'T FUCK WITH ME GODDAMNIT!'


End file.
